


The De-Aged Doctor and the Sea of Monsters

by Whovian101



Series: The De-Aged Doctor and the Olympians [2]
Category: Doctor Who, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-10
Updated: 2020-03-04
Packaged: 2021-02-19 15:23:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 36,693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22647034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whovian101/pseuds/Whovian101
Summary: After a quest with Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, and Grover Underwood, a de-aged thirteen year-old Doctor must help his friends once again with their new unofficial quest.
Series: The De-Aged Doctor and the Olympians [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1608964
Comments: 30
Kudos: 50





	1. Back Into the Swing Of Things

The Doctor spent most of the summer with Percy. It was unbelievably dull for the first month or so, but he soon fell into something of a domestic rhythm. He and Percy went to school and for the first time, neither of them had gotten expelled. There had been no strange accidents, no fights in the classroom, no teachers turning into monsters, no planet-wide alien invasions. It was calm. Dull. Boring. The Doctor longed for some adventure. But they had one more day. One more day of school. Then they would be back to Camp Half-Blood and the real action could get going.

“Morning, boys.” Percy’s mother smiled at them. It was almost pleasant. Like having a mother again. She had made them blue waffles and blue eggs, a celebration of the last day of school.

Percy and the Doctor ate as Mrs. Jackson washed dishes before heading to her first class. Yes, perhaps the Doctor had put in a word for her to get a full scholarship, and yes he knew the family had their suspicions as to who could have been behind this, but the thanks did not need to be verbal. It was clear enough without speaking.

“Percy, are you all right?” She asked him. The Doctor too had noticed the way he didn’t dig in as he usually did.

“Yeah… fine.”

Mrs. Jackson dried her hands and sat down across from the boy. “School, or…”

Percy sighed. “I think Grover’s in trouble.”

“What?”

“I had a dream last night.” Percy explained. “I was standing in the middle of the street in some little beach town in the middle of the night. A storm was blowing, like the ones last year. I knew I was in Florida, but not where. Then I saw Grover. He was running for his life from something.”

“Do you know what?” The Doctor asked.

“No, I just know that it was growling and muttering and cursing. And Grover, he was saying stuff. Like, ‘Have to get away.’ and ‘Have to warn them.’ He ran into this, like, wedding dress store –”

“Bridal shop.” His mother filled in.

“Right, bridal shop, and he was hiding behind the dresses, and then lightning flashed, and the whole front of the store exploded. And this thing, it just shouted, ‘Mine!’.”

Mrs. Jackson pursed her lips. She didn’t like talking about the Greek side of Percy’s life. She tried to keep up as much normality as possible. “I wouldn’t be too worried, dear.” She said, “Grover is a big satyr now. If there was a problem, I’m sure we would’ve heard from…from camp…” Her shoulders tensed as she said the word _camp._

“What is it?” Percy asked. He could read his mother better than anyone else possibly could.

“Nothing.” She said quickly. “I’ll tell you what. This afternoon we’ll celebrate the end of school. I’ll take you two and Tyson to Rockefeller Center – to that skateboard shop you like.”

“Wait a minute,” Percy said. “I thought we were packing us up for camp tonight.”

She twisted her dishrag. “Ah, dear, about that… I got a message from Chiron last night.”

“What did he say?” The Doctor asked.

“He thinks… it might not be safe for you to come to camp just yet. We might have to postpone.”

 _“Postpone?_ Mom, how could it not be _safe?_ I’m a half-blood! It’s like the only safe place on earth for me!”

“Usually, dear. But with the problems they’re having –”

 _“What_ problems?”

“Percy… I’m very, very sorry. I was hoping to talk to you about it this afternoon. I can’t explain it all now. I’m not even sure Chiron can. Everything happened so suddenly.”

The kitchen clock chimed the half-hour, causing the Doctor to jump. Percy’s mother looked almost relieved. “Seven-thirty, dear. You two should go. Tyson will be waiting.”  
“But –”

“Come on Percy,” The Doctor said. “We’ll figure this out.”

Tyson was a newer student at the school and he was absolutely terrified of traveling underground alone, so the Doctor and Percy traveled with him each morning.

“You can always travel, you know, in the box.” The Doctor suggested. Percy had wanted to spend the year with his mother, but the summer was for camp, and without camp…

“Yeah, maybe…” Percy said glumly. “It’s just, camp, it’s like a second home to me. I don’t want to go somewhere else.”

They walked for a bit. “Hey, did you see that?” The Doctor had seen a humanoid silhouette against the brick wall, a shadow belonging to no one that vanished.

“What?” 

“I just thought I saw… nevermind. It must’ve been my imagination.” The Doctor rubbed his ancient eyes.

“Right. Because that’s ever been the case.”


	2. The Adventure Begins

The last day of school began relatively normally. In English, they had been reading  _ Lord of the Flies,  _ and therefore for the final exam, sent the class outside unsupervised. Once again, the Doctor found himself preparing to protect Tyson. Tyson had been taken on by Meriwether College Preparatory School as a sort of community service project. He had been abandoned as a child and therefore was homeless. He was six-foot-three and built. But he cried a lot and was scared of most things, therefore he was disliked by most of the students and picked on. The Doctor and Percy were his only friend, meaning he was also their only friend besides each other.

Today, a young boy, Matt Sloan, snuck up behind Tyson and attempted to give him a wedgie, causing Tyson to panic, swatting Matt a little too hard, sending him flying back and getting tangled in the kids’ tire swing.

“You freak!” Matt yelled. “Why don’t you go back to your cardboard box!”

“Oi!” The Doctor shouted as Tyson broke down in tears.

“Why do you even bother, Smith? You’re messed up enough of your own without that freak.”

“Watch yourself, Sloan.”

“Just wait until PE, Smith.” Matt called. “You are  _ so  _ dead.”

First period ended and Mr. De Milo came outside to inspect the carnage. He pronounced that the class understood  _ Lord of the Flies  _ perfectly and they all passed. He made sure to emphasize that none of the children should ever grow up to be violent people. Matt nodded earnesty, then gave the Doctor a chip-toothed grin.

“Am… Am I a freak?” Tyson asked once they’d all filed into the lunch room. 

“No.” Percy and the Doctor said in unison.

“It’s Matt Sloan who’s the freak.” Percy insisted.

“You guys are good friends.” Tyson sniffled. “Miss you next year if… if I can’t…”

“We’ll figure it out.” The Doctor promised. “Just take things one day at a time.”

The next exam was science. Mrs. Tesla had them mix chemicals until they succeeded in making something explode. Tyson and Percy paired up as lab partners, as the Doctor needed no help blowing anything up. But Percy and Tyson were the first ones to succeed in making an explosion. Tyson accidentally knocked a tray of chemicals off the counter and made an orange mushroom cloud in the garbage. 

Once they’d all evacuated the lab and called the hazardous waste removal squad, she praised the two boys for being natural chemists and the first to ace her exam in under thirty seconds.

Social Studies had the students drawing latitude and longitude onto maps. From the corner of his eye, the Doctor could see Percy pull out his notebook, staring at the photos inside, primarily one of Annabeth on vacation in Washington D.C. She was wearing jeans and a denim jacket over her orange Camp Half-Blood T-shirt. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a bandanna. She stood in front of the Lincoln Memorial with her arms crossed, looking extremely pleased with herself, as though she had personally designed it.

Percy began to close the book, when Matt reached over and ripped the photo from its rings.

“Hey!” Percy cried, just as the Doctor called, “Oi!”

Matt checked out the picture, his eyes wide. “No way, Jackson. Who is that? She is  _ not  _ your –”

“Give it back.” The Doctor growled at the boy. “Now.”

But Matt only laughed, handing the photo to his friends who snickered, ripping it up to make spit wads. Hey were visiting kids, all wearing name tags. On it, they had written; Marrow Sucker, Skull Eater, and Joe Bob. They had a strange sense of humour.

“These guys are moving here next year.” Matt bragged. “I bet they can  _ pay  _ the tuition too, unlike your –”

“If you say one more word.” The Doctor growled, his ancient eyes blazing, “Then you will wish you were homeless.”

“Dude, chill.” Percy murmured from the Time Lord’s left. The Doctor sat back, his face going blank.

“You’re such a loser, Smith.” Matt jeered. “Good thing I’m gonna put you out of your misery next period.”

The bell rang.

The Doctor, Tyson, and Percy made their way from the room.

“Doctor!” The Doctor jumped violently, spinning around. Nothing. He could have sworn he’d heard someone call his name… It must have been nothing.

After the Doctor and Percy finished changing into their gym clothes, Tyson called, “Doctor? Percy?”

“Yeah?” Tyson hadn’t changed yet. He was standing by the weight room door, clutching his gym clothes. “Will you guys… uh…”

“Yeah.” The Doctor and Percy stood outside the door as Tyson ducked in to change. He didn’t like getting dressed in front of others, the Doctor believed it had something to do with the abundance of hair the boy had as well as his massive scars on his back. 

When the three boys made their way into the gym, the gym coach, Coach Nunley, was sitting at his desk reading  _ Sports Illustrated  _ magazine. He was maybe seventy years old, with bifocals, greasy, wavy hair, and a toothless mouth. 

“Coach, can I be captain?” Matt asked him.

“Eh?” The Coach looked up from his magazine. “Yeah. Mm-hmm.”

Matt grinned and took charge of the picking. He made the Doctor the other team’s captain, but it didn’t much matter who the Doctor picked, as all the more athletic children moved over to Matt’s side, as did the group of visitors.

On the Doctor’s side, there was himself, Percy, Tyson, Corey Bailer, Raj Mandali, and a half dozen other children who Matt harassed on a daily basis.

As Matt spilled a cage full of balls in the middle of the gym, Tyson mumbled, “Scared. Smell funny.”

“What does?” The Doctor asked him.

“Them.” Tyson pointed at Matt’s new friends. “Smell funny.”

“Funny how?” The visitors were cracking their knuckles menacingly, but the Doctor felt no fear. He was just a bit cleverer than them, and that’s what made the difference in the end.

Before Tyson could respond, Matt blew the coach’s whistle, and the game began. 

“Hold!” The Doctor ordered the team. 

“I have to go to the bathroom!” Raj yelled in Urdu and sprinted towards the exit.

“We need to catch.” The Doctor hissed to the team members, who had all huddled together. “Catch and spread out.”

They all sprinted in different directions.

A dodgeball slammed into the Doctor’s ribs. He felt them crack, yet his grip did not loosen. Joe Bob was out. But he didn’t leave.

“Hey!” Percy yelled, having heard the Doctor’s ribs. “You could kill somebody!”

Joe Bob grinned. “I hope so, Perseus Jackson! I hope so!”

“Percy…” The Doctor said slowly. “Percy, he knows your name, I think…”

“Monsters.” Percy breathed.

All around Matt, the visitors began growing in size. They were no longer children, but eight-foot giants with wild eyes, massive teeth, and hairy tattooed arms.

Matt dropped his ball. “Woah! You’re not from Detroit! Who…”

The other kids on his team started screaming, backing towards the exit, but Marrow Sucker threw a ball with deadly accuracy. It streaked past Raj, just as he was about to leave and hit the door, slamming it shut. Raj and some of the others banged on it desperately.

“Let them go!” The Doctor demanded.

Joe Bob growled, “And lose our tasty morsels? No, Son of Kronos, we Laistrygonians aren’t just playing for your death. We want lunch!”

“Kronos?” The Doctor looked up in confusion. Did they really think he was a child of Kronos? Well, he was the titan in control of time, but things didn’t line up properly. Perhaps the gods had been keeping a closer eye on him in this past year.

Joe Bob waved his hand and a new batch of dodgeballs appeared on the center line, but these balls were not made of rubber. They were bronze, the size of cannon balls, perforated like wiffle balls with fire bubbling out of the holes. Despite the heat of the fire, the giants picked them up with no problem.

“Coach!” Percy yelled, but the coach saw nothing out of the ordinary thanks to the Mist that surrounded them.

“Yeah. Mm-hmm,” The coach muttered. “Play nice.”  
He went back to his magazine.

Skull Eater threw his ball, the Doctor dove out of the way, knocking Corey down behind him and shielding him as the ball exploded against the exercise mat where Corey had just been standing.

Percy cured behind the Doctor. “I don’t have pockets! Riptide’s back in the locker room!” The Doctor cursed as well, pushing Percy out of the way as a fireball came streaking towards them, but the blast was still close enough to send them both flying through the air and sprawling on the ground.

“Flesh!” The giants bellowed. “Godly flesh for lunch!” They took aim at the two heros.

“Friends need help!” Tyson yelled, and he jumped in front of the two boys just as the giants threw their balls. The Doctor cried out in protest, but it was too late.

The balls slammed into him but, but he caught them both. One in each hand. He sent them hurtling back towards their surprised owners, who screamed, “BAAAAAD!” as the bronze spheres exploded against their chests.

The giants disintegrated in twin columns of flame – they were not dead, the Doctor had to keep reminding himself of this – but they were no longer here.

“My brothers!” Joe Bob wailed. He flexed his muscles. “You will pay for their destruction!”

“Look out!” The Doctor shouted as another comet hurtled towards them, but Tyson had just enough time to swat it aside, sending it flying straight over Coach Nunley’s head and landing in the bleachers with a massive explosion.

Kids were running and screaming, trying to avoid the sizzling craters in the floor. Others were banging on the door, calling for help. Matt Sloan himself stood petrified in the middle of the court, watching in disbelief as the flaming balls flew around him. 

“Victory will be ours!” Joe Bob roared. “We will feast on your bones!”

“Oi!” The Doctor was on his feet. “You can’t eat what you can’t catch.” He started to run, the other giants running after him. He dodged between their legs, but he knew he could only stall for so long.

A massive hand smashed into him, and the Doctor went flying, hitting the wall rather painfully.

“Caught you.” Joe Bob grinned hungrily, bearing down on the Doctor when –

The giant froze. Where his navel should be beneath his shirt, was the glowing tip of the blade.

The monster muttered, “Ow.” and burst into a cloud of green flame. Standing in this smoke was Annabeth Chase.

“That’s the third time I’ve had to save your ass.” She grinned despite herself.

“I’m trying not to make a habit of it.”

Annabeth’s face was grimy and scratched. Her rucksack was ragged, slung over her shoulder. Her Yankees cap was tucked in her pocket, and her bronze knife gleamed in her hand.

Matt, who had been standing there dumbfounded the entire time, finally seemed to come to his senses. He blinked at Annabeth, as though finally recognizing her from Percy’s notebook photograph. “That’s the girl… That’s the girl –”

Annabeth punched him in the nose and knocked him to the ground, despite the Doctor’s protests. “And  _ you _ ,” She told him, “Lay off my friends.”

The gym was in flames; children were still running around and screaming. Sirens wailed in the distance, and through the glass windows of the exit doors, the headmaster, Mr. Bonsai, was wrestling with the lock, a crowd of teachers piling up behind him.

“Annabeth…” Percy stammered. “How did you… how long have you…”

“All morning.” The Doctor breathed suddenly. “You were who I heard this morning.”

“Took you long enough.” Annabeth smirked. “For someone so  _ old  _ and  _ wise,  _ you’re a bit dense.” The Doctor grinned.

“There!” One of the teachers screamed as the doors burst open and the adults came pouring in.

“Meet me outside.” Annabeth said. “And him.” She pointed to Tyson, her face held a look of distaste. “You’d better bring him.”

“What?” Percy asked.

“No time!” She said. “Hurry!”

Placing back on her Yankees cap, she vanished.

“Percy Jackson, John Smith?” Mr. Bonsai said. “What… how…”

But Matt Sloan was first to shout, “They did it, Mr. Bonsai! They set the whole building on fire! Coach Nunley will tell you! He saw it all!”

Coach Nunley had been reading his magazine. He looked up when his name was called.

“Eh? Yeah. Mm-hmm.”

All the adults turned to the boys.

“Run.” The Doctor hissed.

Percy grabbed Riptide and the Doctor grabbed his trenchcoat and he, Percy, and Tyson sprinted through the gaping hole in the side of the building.


	3. The Three Graeae

Annabeth was waiting for them in an alley down Church Street. She pulled the three of them off the sidewalk just as a fire engine screamed past.

“Where’d you find  _ him?”  _ She demanded, pointing acusitorily at Tyson.

“He’s our friend.” Percy said defensively.

“Is he homeless?”

“A bit of a personal question.” The Doctor pointed out. “Why don’t you ask him?”

She looked surprised. “He can talk?”

“I talk.” Tyson said nervously. “You are pretty.”

“Ah! Gross!”

“Annabeth!” 

“Wait, Tyson,” Percy said suddenly. “Your hands aren’t even burned.” The Doctor looked down, and sure enough, Tyson’s hands, which had once been holding balls of fire, were untouched.

“Of course not.” Annabeth muttered. “I’m surprised the Laistrygonians had the guts to attack you guys with him around.”

Tyson seemed fascinated by Annabeth’s blonde hair. He tried to touch it, but she smacked his hand away.

“Annabeth,” Percy said. “What are you talking about? Laistry-what?”

“Laistrygonians.” The Doctor explained quickly. “The giants from the gym. They’re a race of giant cannibals who live in the far north. Odysseus ran into them, but they’ve not been seen this far south before…”

“Come on, we should keep moving.” Annabeth said.

“The police’ll be after us.” Percy protested.

“That’s the least of our problems.” Annabeth said. “Have either of you been having dreams?”

“The dreams… about Grover?” Percy asked.

Annabeth’s face turned pale. “Grover? No, what about Grover?”

“What were  _ you  _ dreaming about?” The Doctor asked.

She paused, thinking quickly.

“Camp.” She said at last. “Big trouble at camp.”

“Percy’s mum said so.” The Doctor said. “D’you know what’s going on?”

“I don’t know exactly.” Annabeth said regretfully. “Something’s wrong. We have to get there right away. Monsters have been chasing me all the way from Virginia, trying to stop me. Have you two had a lot of attacks?”

“None all year… until today.” Percy said.

“None? But how…” Her eyes drifted to Tyson. “Oh.”

“Annabeth, what aren’t you telling us?” The Doctor asked.

Tyson raised his hand as he would in class. “Canadians in the gym called the Doctor something… Son of Kronos?”

“Yeah, well, they’re a bit thick, aren’t they?” The Doctor said.

“So, they think you’re a god?” Annabeth asked.

“It appears so. I think the gods are keeping a closer eye on me this year.” The Doctor admitted. “They’ve figured out about the whole time and space travel thing, and are trying to understand.”

“So, they don’t know you're an alien?” Percy asked.

“No.”

“What –?” Tyson was looking at the Doctor strangely.

“Right,” The Doctor said quickly. “So, Greek mythology, it has some basis in reality.”

“Yes.” Tyson said knowingly, just as Annabeth said, “Some?”

“Well, Percy and Annabeth are half-bloods, I’m in the gray area a bit, and the ‘Canadians’ in the gym were Laistrygonians, a type of Greek giant.”

“But you are son of Kronos?”

“No.” The Doctor said. “I’m neither here nor there, but Annabeth’s daughter of Athena and Percy’s son of Poseidon.”

“Percy’s son of Poseidon?” he asked.

“Yeah.” Percy admitted. “He’s my dad, why?”

Tyson frowned, looking confused. “But then…”

A siren wailed and a police car sped past the alley.

“We don’t have time for this.” Annabeth said. “We’ll talk in the taxi.”

“A taxi all the way to camp?” Percy asked. 

“Trust me.”

The Doctor raised his eyebrow, but went along with it, following Percy, Tyson, and Annabeth down the alley. The four of them snuck through side streets as smoke billowed up behind them from the school gymnasium.

“Here.” Annabeth stopped them on the corner of Thomas and Trimble street. She fished around in her rucksack for something.

The Doctor took this time to more properly assess her; Annabeth’s chin was cut, twigs and grass were tangled in her ponytail as though she had slept out in the open for several nights, and there were claw marks slashed into the hems of her jeans.

“Found one.” Annabeth breathed out in relief, “Thank the gods.” She pulled out a golden drachma.

“Annabeth,” Percy said. “New York taxi drivers won’t take that.”

“I don’t think we’re taking a New York taxi cab.” The Doctor murmured.

_ “Stop, Chariot of Damnation!”  _ Annabeth cried out in Ancient Greek. She threw the coin into the street, and the Doctor watched it sink into the asphalt and disappear.

There was a beat of silence.

Then, precisely where the coin had fallen, the earth darkened and melted into a rectangular pool of bubbling red liquid. Then, from the ooze, a cab erupted.

This cab wasn’t like the rest of the cabs in New York. It wasn’t yellow, but instead woven from gray smoke. The passenger window was rolled down and an old woman stuck her head out. A mop of grizzled hair covered her eyes. “Passage? Passage?” She mumbled.

“Four to Camp Half-Blood.” Annabeth said, opening the cab’s back door.

“Ach!” The woman screeched. “We don’t take  _ his  _ kind.” She pointed a bony finger at Tyson.

“Extra pay.” The Doctor promised.

“Yeah, three more drachma on arrival.” Annabeth agreed.

“Done!” The woman screamed.

The four squeezed into the back seat, despite there only being three seats. Percy ended up being half-on the Doctor’s lap.

Crammed in the front seat, there were three women, each with the same stringy hair covering their eyes, the same bony hands, and the same charcoal-covered sackcloth dresses.

“Long Island!” The woman driving said. “Out-of-metro fare bonus! Ha!” She floored the accelerator, the Doctor’s head nearly slammed against the backrest. A prerecorded voice came on over the speaker:  _ Hi, this is Ganymede, cup-bearer to Zeus, and when I’m out buying wine for the Lord of the Skies, I always buckle up! _

The cab sped around the corner of West Broadway, and the woman sitting in the middle screeched, “Look out! Go left!”

“Well, if you’d give me the eye, Deino, I could  _ see _ that!” The driver complained.

Deino?  _ The  _ eye?

“You’re the Graeae.” The Doctor said suddenly. 

“What?” Percy asked as they swerved to avoid an oncoming delivery truck, running over the curb in the process.

“Deino, Enyo, and Pemphredo.” The Doctor identified, “They’re the Graeae, also known as the Grey sisters. They have one tooth and one eye between the three of them.”

“Pemphredo!” The third sister suddenly screamed, “Give me the girl’s coin! I want to bite it!”

“You bit it last time, Enyo!” Pemphredo said. “It’s my turn!”

“It’s not!” Enyo called.

“Red light!” Deino screamed.

“Brake!” Enyo yelled.

Instead, Pemphredo floored the accelerator and rode high up on the pavement, screeching around another corner, and knocking over a newspaper box.

Beside Percy, the Doctor could hear Tyson groan and grab the seat. “Not feeling so good.”

“Hang in there, big guy.” Percy encouraged.

“Give me the tooth!” Enyo tried to grab at Pemphredo’s mouth, but Pemphredo swatted her hand away.

“Only if Denio gives me the eye!”

“No!” Denio screeched. “You had it yesterday!”

“Two extra drachma if the driver gets the eye!” The Doctor suddenly shouted, sending Annabeth an apologetic look as Pemphredo cried out in triumph and Denio reluctantly handed over the eye.

“You didn’t have to do that.” Annabeth hissed. “They know what they’re doing.”

“Yes!” Enyo grinned. “We know things.”

“Every street in Manhattan!” Pemphredo bragged. “The capital of Nepal!”

“The location you seek!” Denio added.

Immediately, her sisters pummeled her from either side, screaming, “Be quiet! Be quiet! They didn’t even ask yet!”

“What?” The Doctor demanded, suddenly serious. “What location?”

“Nothing!” Denio said quickly.

“Tell me.”

“No!” All three sisters screamed.

“The last time we told, it was horrible!” Denio said.

“Eye tossed in a lake!” Enyo agreed.

“Years to find it again!” Pemphredo moaned. 

“What if I could promise you something worth the risk?” The Doctor said.

“Like what?” All three sisters seemed interested now.

“Well, your eye is just a piece of technology,” The Doctor explained. “With one flick of my sonic device here,” He twirled the Sonic Screwdriver, “I could make it so all of you could see through this one eye all the time.”

“Prove it.” Pemphredo licked her lips.

“Not until you tell me.” The Doctor demanded. 

“30, 31, 75, 12.” Enyo said. “That is all we can tell you.”

“We’ll take it.” The Doctor said. The sonic hummed, and both sisters without the eye gave a pleased cry.

Without warning, Denio slammed on the breaks and the cab spun a number of times in a cloud of smoke before squealing to a halt in the middle of the farm road at the base of Half-Blood Hill.

The Doctor looked up to the top, only to see that at the crest of the hill, a group of campers were under attack.

“Allons-y!”


	4. Welcome Back to Camp

As soon as the four of them exited the cab, the Gray sisters peeled out, heading back to New York where things were safer. They didn’t even wait for their extra drachma. 

At the top of the hill were two bronze elephant-sized bulls, breathing fire at the ten-or-so half-bloods. 

“Border patrol, to me!” The voice of Clarisse shouted.

“Come on.” The Doctor began sprinting up the hill. “Oi!” He shouted, the bull turned, not waiting a moment before breathing fire at the oncoming Time Lord. He dove out of the way, his right side seared by the flame, but giving Clarisse enough time to strike again, impaling it through the back leg with her celestial bronze spear.

But the bull moved faster than the Doctor ever could, smashing into him with the side of its head, sending the boy flying into a tree.

Tyson wailed by the crest of the hill. “Can’t – get – through!”

“I, Annabeth Chase, give you permission to enter the camp!” Annabeth suddenly shouted.

Thunder shook the hillside, and suddenly, Tyson was there. The Doctor could see Percy on the ground, his ankle looking broken and at an odd angle, the other bull about to cook him. “Percy needs help!” Tyson dove between Percy and the bull, just as it unleashed an explosion of fire.

“Tyson!” The Doctor shouted, getting up, but his right leg buckled beneath him. 

The blast swirled around Tyson, and as the fire died down, Tyson still stood there, untouched by the flame. Not even his clothes were touched. The bull was about to unleash a second blast, but Tyson balled his fists and slammed them into the bull’s face. “BAD COW!”

His fists made a crater where the bronze bull’s snout had once been. Two small columns of flame shot out of its ears. Tyson hit it again, and the bronze crumpled under his hands.

“Down!” Tyson yelled.

The bull staggered and fell on its back, its legs moving feebly in the air, steam coming out of its ruined head in odd places. 

The Doctor forced himself upright, holding onto the tree for support. Annabeth hurried over, offering nectar from her canteen.

“No.” The Doctor said quickly. “No, I’m fine.” 

“Right.” Annabeth rolled her eyes, but left his side to give it to Percy, who gratefully accepted.

Clarisse had taken down the other bull. Once she’d impaled it, it had been much easier to take down. She had managed to make a massive gash in its right side, and take off half its snout. 

Clarisse pulled off her helmet and marched towards the Doctor, Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson.

“We had it under control!” She shouted. “What in Hades’ name did you think you were doing?”

“Clarisse.” Annabeth said calmly. “You’ve got wounded campers.”

That sobered her up. Even Clarisse cared about the soldiers under her command.

“I’ll be back.” She growled, trudging off to assess the damage.

Percy was staring at Tyson. “You didn’t die.”

Tyson looked down at his feet in shame. “I am sorry. Came to help. Disobeyed you.”

“My fault.” Annabeth said. “I had no choice. I had to let Tyson cross the boundary line to save you.”

_ “Let  _ him cross the boundary line?” Percy asked. “But –”

“Oh, I am thick.” The Doctor said suddenly. “I didn’t bother look through the Mist.”

“What?”

“Look at him, Percy.” The Doctor said. “Ignore the Mist and  _ look. _ ”

In the center of his face, was one massive eye. The Mist had been acting as a perception filter. Brilliant.

“Tyson,” Percy stammered. “You’re a…”

“Cyclops.” Annabeth offered. “A baby, by the looks of him. Probably why he couldn’t get past the boundary line as easily as the bulls. Tyson’s one of the homeless orphans.”

“One of the what?”

“Mistakes.” The Doctor said regretfully. “He was given life by mistake. 

“You can find them in most big cities.” Annabeth added. “They grow up wild on the streets. I don’t know how this one found you, but he obviously likes you. We should take him to Chiron, let him decide what to do.”

“He’s staying.” The Doctor said firmly.

“But the fire.” Percy said, still in shock. “How –”

“He’s a Cyclops.” Annabeth paused, as though remembering something unpleasant (The Doctor knew that look only too well). “They work the forges of the gods. They  _ have  _ to be immune to fire.”

It was then that Clarisse came back over, wiping soot from her forehead. “We need to carry the wounded back to the Big House, let Tantalus know what’s happened.”

“Tantalus?”

“The activities director.” Clarisse said impatiently.

“Chiron is the activities director.” Percy said. “And where’s Argus? He’s head of security. He should be here.”

Clarisse made a sour face. “Argus got fired. You three have been gone too long. Things are changing.”

“But Chiron…” Percy said, “He’s trained kids to fight monsters for over three thousand years. He can’t just be  _ gone.  _ What happened?”

_ “That  _ happened.” Clarisse snapped. She pointed to Thalia’s tree.

The once strong, healthy, green pine tree, was now a sickly yellow colour with a pile of dead needles littered at its base. In the center of the trunk, three feet from the ground, was a puncture mark the size of a bullet hole, oozing green sap.

The Doctor scanned it with the Sonic.

“Elder Python Venom.” He breathed.

Thalia’s tree was dying.

Someone had poisoned it.

The Doctor suspected he knew who.


	5. The Claiming of Tyson

There was an air of danger within Camp Half-Blood. Instead of playing volleyball in the sandpit, counselors and satyrs were stockpiling weapons in the tool shed. Dryads armed with bows and arrows spoke nervously at the edge of the woods. The forest itself looked ill; the grass in the meadow was a pale yellow, and the fire marks on the hill stood out starkly. 

Leaning on Annabeth’s shoulder, the Doctor made his way alongside the others to the Big House. Tyson was absolutely fascinated by everything he saw. 

“What’s that?” He gasped.

“The stables for pegasi.” Percy explained. “The winged horses.”

“What’s that?”

“The loo.” The Doctor explained. After another, 

“What’s that?” The Doctor quickly explained.

“The toilets.”

“What’s that?”

“Those are the cabins for the campers.” Percy explained. “If they don’t know who your Olympian parent is, they put you in the Hermes cabin – that brown one over there – until you’re determined. Then, once they know, they put you in your dad or mom’s group.”

He looked at Percy in awe. “You… have a  _ cabin?” _

“Number three.” Percy pointed to his cabin.

“You live with friends in the cabin?”

“Well,” Percy hesitated. “The Doctor’s there most of the time, even though he’s not supposed to be. Other than him, it’s just me.”

“Oh.”

Once they’d arrived at the Big House, they found Chiron in his apartment, listening to some 1960s lounge music whilst he packed his saddlebags.

The moment Tyson saw him, he froze. “Pony!” he cried in excitement.

Chiron turned, looking somewhat offended. “I beg your pardon?”

Annabeth dumped the Doctor into a chair and ran up to him, wrapping him in a hug. “Chiron, what’s happening? You’re not… leaving?” Her voice was shaky. 

Chiron ruffled her hair in a very paternal manor, giving her a kindly smile. “Hello, child. Doctor. And Percy, my goodness. You’ve grown over the year!”

“You’re leaving.” The Doctor said, his voice emotionless and matter-of-fact.

“Yes. I have been fired.” Chirons eyes glinted with dark humor. “Ah, well, someone had to take the blame. Lord Zeus was most upset. The tree he’d created from the spirit of his daughter, poisoned! Mr. D had to punish someone.”

“Besides himself, you mean.” The Doctor growled.

“But this is crazy!” Annabeth cried tearfully. “Chiron, you couldn’t have had anything to do with poisoning Thalia’s tree.”

“Nevertheless,” Chiron sighed. “Some in Olympus do not trust me now, under the circumstances.”

“What circumstances?” The Doctor inquired.

The centaur’s face darkened. He stuffed a Latin-English dictionary into his saddlebag whilst Frank Sinatra music oozed from his boom box.

Tyson stood, staring at Chiron in amazement. He whimpered as though he wanted to pat Chiron’s flank but was afraid to come closer. “Pony?”

Chiron sniffed. “My dear young Cyclops! I am a  _ centaur.”  _

“Chiron,” The Doctor said, “The tree, that’s Elder Python Venom, isn’t it?”

“I have never seen the likes of it before.” Chiron whispered. “Nor have I heard of such a venom. Is there – is there a cure?”

The Doctor shook his head. “No. It comes from the depths of Tartarus. I think that Kro–”  
“Do not invoke the titan lord’s name, Doctor. Especially not here, not now.”

“Well, you lot seem to think he’s my father, so –”

“And is he?” Chiron jumped at the opportunity to ask.

“No.”

“Oh.” He sighed. “I fear the tree has only a few weeks left of life unless…”

“Unless what?” Annabeth asked.

“No,” Chiron asid. “A foolish thought. The whole valley is feeling the shock of the poison. The magical borders are deteriorating. The camp itself is dying. Only one source of magic would be strong enough to reverse the poison, and it was lost centuries ago.”

Chiron closed his bag, having finished his packing. He looked at Annabeth, brushing a tear from her cheek. “Stay with Percy, child, and keep an eye on the Doctor.”

“Oi! The Doctor can hear you.”

“The prophecy,” He said, ignoring the Doctor, “Remember it.”

“I – I will.”

“Um…” Percy said. “Would this be the super-dangerous prophecy that has me in it, but the gods have forbidden you to tell me about it?”

Nobody answered.

“Right.” Percy muttered. “Just checking.”

“Chiron…” Annabeth said. “You told me the gods made you immortal only so long as you were needed to train heroes. If they dismiss you from camp –”

“Swear you will do your best to keep Percy from danger.” He insisted. “Swear upon the River Styx.”

“I – I swear it upon the River Styx.” Annabeth said.

Thunder rumbled outside.

“Very well.” Chiron’s body relaxed. “Perhaps my name will be cleared and I shall return. Until then, I go to visit my wild kinsmen in the Everglades. It’s possible they know of some cure for the poisoned tree that I have forgotten. In any event, I will stay in exile until this matter is resolved… one way or another.”

Annabeth stifled a sob. Chiron awkwardly patted her shoulder. “There, now, child. I must entrust your safety to Mr. D and the new activities director. We must hope… well, perhaps they won’t destroy the camp as quickly as I fear.”

A conch horn blew across the valley.

“Go.” Chiron said. “You will meet him at the pavilion. I will contact your mother, Percy, and let her know you’re safe. No doubt she’ll be worried by now. Just remember my warning! You are in grave danger. Do not think for a moment that the titan lord has forgotten you!”

With that, he clopped out of the apartment and down the hall, Tyson calling after him, “Pony! Don’t go!”

Tyson began bawling almost as badly as Annabeth was.

“It’ll be okay.” The Doctor promised. He was going to make it okay.

The sun was setting behind the dining pavilion as the campers came up from their cabins. The Doctor, Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson stood in the shadow of a marble column and watched them file in. The Doctor was leaning on Percy now, as Annabeth was pretty shaken up. She hurried off to join her half-siblings from the Athena cabin.

Clarisse came in next, leading the Ares cabin. She had one arm in a sling and a nasty-looking gash on her cheek, but she wore it like a trophy.

The Hephaestus cabin came in next, led by Charles Beckendorf. Other than his name, the Doctor didn’t know much about him. He had charcoal skin and a strong build, giving off an aura of kindness, but not someone who should be messed with. 

The other cabins filed in: Demeter, Apollo, Aphrodite, Dionysus. Naiads came up from the canoe lake, dryads melted out of the trees, and from the meadows came a dozen satyrs. 

The last to file in were the Hermes cabin, led by Travis and Connor Stoll. 

As soon as the last campers had filed in, Percy led Tyson into the middle of the pavilion. The Doctor followed anyways.

“Who invited  _ that?”  _ Someone at the Apollo table murmured.

“Oi!” The Doctor hissed at them. 

From the head table, the voice of Dionysus drawled out, “Well, well, if it isn’t Peter Johnson and Jonathan Small. My millennium is complete”

_ “Percy Jackson  _ and _ John Smith _ … sir.” Percy gritted his teeth.

Dionysus sipped his Diet Coke. “Yes. Well, as you young people say these days:  _ Whatever.” _

Next to the god was someone the Doctor had not seen before. He was horribly thin, wearing an orange prisoner’s jumpsuit. The number over his pocket read 000I. He had blue shadows under his eyes, dirty fingernails, as well as badly cut gray hair.

“Tantalus was the wicked king of Sipylus.” The Doctor explained quickly to Percy, who had been staring at the prisoner. “Served his son at a feast to the gods. Had his whole dynasty cursed and until now was in the Underworld. He was forced to stand in a pool of water, but it receded whenever he tried to drink.”

“These boys.” Dionysus said to Tantalus, “you need to watch. Poseidon’s child and the titan lord’s.”

“Is he really…?”

“We don’t know for sure.”

“Ah.”

“I am Tantalus.” Tantalus introduced himself to the two boys, smiling coldly. “On special assignment here until, well, until my Lord Dionysus decides otherwise. And you two, I  _ do  _ expect you to refrain from causing any more trouble.”

“Trouble?” Percy demanded.

Dionysus snapped his fingers and a newspaper appeared on the table – the front page of the  _ New York Post.  _ There was the Doctor and Percy’s faces plastered on the front page with the title:  _ Thirteen Year-Old Boys Set Fire to School. _

“Yes, trouble.” Tantalus said with satisfaction. “You caused plenty of it last summer, I understand.”

“Right, because that was  _ our  _ fault.” The Doctor muttered.

A satyr inched forwards nervously, setting a plate of barbecue in front of Tantalus who licked his lips ravenously. Looking at his empty goblet, he said. “Root beer. Barq’s special stock. 1967.”

His glass filled itself with a foamy drink. He reached out hesitantly. 

“Go on, then, old fellow.” Dionysus said, looking humoured, “Perhaps now it will work.”

Tantalus grabbed for the glass, but it scooted away before he could touch it. A few drops spilled, and as Tantalus attempted to dab them up with his fingers, the drops rolled away. He growled, turning towards the plate of food, picking up a fork and stabbing down. But the plate skittered down the table and flew off the end, straight into the coals of the brazier.

“Blast!” Tantalus muttered.

“Ah, well.” Dionysus said. “Perhaps a few more days. Believe me, old chap, working at this camp will be torture enough. I’m sure your old curse will fade eventually.”

“Eventually,” muttered Tantalus, staring at Dionysus’s Diet Coke. “Do you have any idea how dry one’s throat gets after three thousand years.”

“Yeah, well, there’s a reason for that.” The Doctor said.

Tantalus’s eyes narrowed. Behind him, satyrs were shaking their heads vigorously, attempting to warn the Doctor to stop.

“I’ll be watching you, boy.”

The Doctor, Percy, and Tyson turned to go back to the Poseidon table, but was stopped by Tantalus. “Oh, no, the monsters stay here. We must decide what to do with them.”

“No.” The Doctor said fearlessly. “And if you think for one moment I’m going to –”

“Joel,” Dionysus said, “He is not the only monster I’m speaking of.” The Doctor hesitated. Oh, right.

“Percy, go sit down.”

“What –”

“Go.” The Doctor commanded.

Percy left to sit alone at Poseidon’s table. 

“Son of the titan lord –” Tantalus began, but the Doctor cut him off.

“I’m not his son.”

“Then who are you?”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“Try me.”

“I’m a friend. I’m on your side.” The Doctor said finally. “And so is Tyson.”

“Tyson?” 

The Doctor gestured to the cyclops beside him.

“Ah, I see.” His voice was dripping in sarcasm.

One of the satyrs blew the conch horn and Tantalus stood.

“Yes, well, another fine meal! Or so I’m told.” He said, his hand inching towards his refilled dinner plate, as if perhaps the food wouldn’t notice what he was doing, but of course, it did, and shot away down the table as soon as he got close. “And here, on my first day of authority,” He continued. “I’d like to say what a pleasant form of punishment it is to be here. Over the course of the summer, I hope to torture – er – interact with each and every one of you children. You all look good enough to eat.”

Dionysus clapped politely, leading to some halfhearted applause from the satyrs. 

“And now some changes!” Tantalus gave the campers a crooked smile. “We are reinstituting the chariot races!”

Murmuring broke out amongst the tables. Excitement, fear, and disbelief.

“Now I know,” Tantalus continued, raising his voice, “That these races were discontinued some years ago due to, ah, technical problems.”

“Three deaths and twenty-six mutilations!” Someone at the Apollo table called.

“Yes, yes!” Tantalus said. “But I know that you will all join me in welcoming the return of this camp tradition. Golden laurels will go to the winning charioteers each month. Teams may register in the morning! The first race will be held in three days time. We will release you from most of your regular activities to prepare your chariots and choose your horses. Oh, and did I mention, the victorious team’s cabin will have no chores for the month in which they win?”

An explosion of excitement conversation burst out amongst the campers. 

“But sir!” Clarisse was on her feet, looking nervous. “What about patrol duty? I mean, if we drop everything to ready our chariots –”

“Ah, the hero of the day,” Tantalus exclaimed. “Brave Clarisse, who single-handedly bested the bronze bulls!”

Clarisse blinked, then blushed. “Um, I didn’t –”

“And modest too.” Tantalus grinned. “Not to worry, my dear! This is summer camp. We are here to enjoy ourselves, yes?”

“But the tree –”

“And now,” Tantalus said, as several of Clarisse’s half-siblings pulled her back into her seat, “before we proceed to the campfire and sing-along, a couple slight housekeeping issues: Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase have seen fit, for some reason, to bring  _ this  _ here.” Tantalus waved a hand towards Tyson.

Uneasy and confused murmuring spread across the pavilion. Things like, “Is that a Cyclops?” And “Why is the Doctor up there?”

“Now, of course,” He said, “Cyclops have a reputation for being bloodthirsty monsters with a very small brain capacity. Under normal circumstances, I would release this beast into the woods and have you hunt it down with torches and pointed sticks. But who knows? Perhaps this Cyclops is not as horrible as most of its brethren. Until it proves worthy of destruction, we need a place to keep it! I’ve thought about the stables, but that will make the horses nervous. Hermes’s cabin, possibly?”

All of the Hermes cabin looked down at the table, they did  _ not  _ have room for a Cyclops.

“But before we decide that,” Tantalus continued, “We have another issue to discuss.” He grinned cruelly at the Doctor. “It has come to our attention that John Smith is not a son of Apollo.”

Whispers and rumors exploded across the pavilion.

“He is thought to be dangerous, and so we must find a place to put him. So,” Tantalus grinned. “Any suggestions as to where such beasts should be kenneled?”

Without warning, everyone gasped.

Tantalus scooted away from Tyson in surprise. A brilliant green holographic image appeared above Tyson’s head.

Tantalus roared with laughter. “Well! I think we know where to put this beast now. By the gods, I can see the family resemblance!”

Most of the camp laughed. 

“And now, perhaps we can take Smith to the forest and send you –”

“We’ll take him!” Percy suddenly shouted. “He can live in our cabin.”

Tantalus laughed once more.

“I hope to see you alive by the end of the summer, Percy Jackson."


	6. The Chariot Race

The next few days were tense to say the least. The Doctor and Tyson moved into the Poseidon cabin with Percy. Percy seemed to be somewhat reluctant to call Tyson his brother, the Cyclops seemed to frustrated him. Tyson, on the other hand, was ecstatic about it, giggling and saying, “Percy is my brother!” Every few minutes. 

Percy wanted to team up with the Doctor for the Chariot Race, but the Time Lord insisted he do it with Tyson instead.

“I don’t want to!” Percy whined. “You actually know what you’re doing!”  
“Then explain that to Tyson.”

The only other person who seemed not to have any problem with Tyson was Beckendorf from the Hephaestus cabin. Hephaestus, as a blacksmith, works with Cyclops in his forges, and as his son, Beckendorf was happy to take Tyson down to the armory to teach him some metalworking.

Percy spent a lot of his time training with Apollo’s cabin, but other than that he isolated himself. The Doctor tried his best to help, but Percy didn’t seem to want to see him. 

The rest of the camp didn’t seem to want to see the Doctor either. Rumors swept past and campers seemed afraid of him. This bothered him more than he knew it should. And so he spent most of his time on border patrol. Despite Tantalus insisting that they forget attempting to protect the camp, some of the campers quietly kept it up, working out a schedule during their free times. The Doctor skipped most, if not all, of his activities, and no one seemed too bothered about it, and so he spent all of his time on patrol, not even returning to the cabin to sleep.

“Doctor.” Annabeth said, joining him on the hill one day, “Why weren’t you at dinner?”

“Not hungry.”

“Right.”

The Doctor hesitated. “I’m concerned about the race.”

“Are you, now?” She said, rolling her eyes, “Don’t think you’ll break the record?”

“I’m not racing?”

“Seriously?” She laughed. “Why not? Too violent for you?”

“I'm making Percy do it with Tyson.” The Doctor admitted.

Annabeth laughed. “You sound like a parent trying to make their kids get along.”

The Doctor smiled faintly. “Feels like it sometimes.”

“What are you going to do about it, then?”

“I dunno.” The Doctor ran a shaky hand through his hair. “It’ll be difficult to follow them…”

“Oh, I’d love to watch that,” Annabeth laughed, “you running behind the chariot.”

The Doctor rolled his eyes, then suddenly grinned at Annabeth. “Could I use your hat?”

“What?”

“Your invisible –”

“Yes, I know which hat you mean.” Annabeth rolled her eyes. She hesitated. “Can I have collateral?”

“Depends what it is, then, doesn’t it?”

“Your ‘Sonic Screwdriver.’”

“And use it to sabotage other chariots, I don’t think so.”

Annabeth deflated. “Fine, whatever, it was worth a shot. Just keep an eye on Percy. He’s been off too.”

The morning of the chariot race the air was hot and humid. Fog lay low on the ground and millions of birds were roosting in the trees. The racetrack had been built in a grassy field between the archery range and the woods. Hphaestus’s cabin had used the bronze bulls, which had been completely tame since they’d been bashed in, to plow an oval track in a matter of minutes. There were rows of stone steps for the spectators – Tantalus, the satyrs, a few dryads, and all of the campers who weren’t participating. Mr. D didn’t bother show. He was never up before ten in the morning anyways.

“Right!” Tantalus announced as the teams began to assemble. A naiad had brought him a massive platter of biscuits, and as he spoke, his right hand chased them across the judge’s table. “You all know the rules. A quarter-mile track. Twice around to win. Two horses per chariot. Each team will consist of a driver and a fighter. Weapons are allowed. Dirty tricks are expected. But try not to kill anybody!” Tantalus smiled cruelly, “Any killing will result in harsh punishment. No s’mores at the campfire for a week! Now ready your chariots!”

Beckendorf led the Hephaestus team onto the track. Their chariot was made of bronze and iron, as were their horses. The Doctor had no doubt that their chariot had all sorts of mechanical traps.

The Ares chariot was bloodred, pulled by two grisly skeletal horses. Clarisse climbed aboard with a batch of javelins, spiked balls, caltrops, as well as a variety of other weapons.

Apollo’s chariot was trim, graceful, and completely golden in colour. It was pulled by two beautiful palominos. Their fighter was armed with a bow, although he had promised not to shoot regular pointed arrows at the opposing drivers. It was very noble of him.

Hermes’s chariot was green and worn, it looked relatively improvised, but the Doctor was positive that the Stoll brothers atop it had filled it to the brim with tricks and traps.

Athena’s chariot was driven by Annabeth, and Poseidon’s was by Percy. The Doctor had snuck on using Annabeth’s hat. He was pretty sure that Percy was aware that he was there, but didn’t choose to comment.

“I had a dream last night.” Percy said as they prepared their chariot. He seemed to be talking more to the Doctor than to Tyson, but Tyson was excited nonetheless.

“What was it about?”

“Well, Grover, my friend, he made some kind of empathy link with me, and he was pretending to be a bride to this, this giant Polyphemus.” The Doctor could tell that Percy was getting closer to Tyson, as he neglected to mention that Polyphemus was a Cyclops. It was touching. “He said he was on an island, the Sea of Monsters, said he went to Florida and turned left.” The Doctor nodded invisibly. “Said he had twelve days before he was eaten.”

“We have to save him!” Tyson said. “We have to help!”

“I was thinking we could consult the Oracle.”

Before anyone could respond, the conch horn sounded. 

“Charioteers!” Tantalus called. “To your mark!”

Percy took the reins, maneuvering the chariot to the starting line. He gave Tyson a ten-foot pole, telling him that his job was to push the other chariots away if they got too close and to deflect anything they may attempt to throw at them.

“No hitting ponies with the stick,” Tyson insisted. 

“No,” Percy agreed. “Or people, either, if you can help it. We’re going to run a clean race. Just keep the distractions away and let me concentrate on driving.”

“We will win!” Tyson beamed.

The Doctor could help but notice the birds in the trees, pigeons to be precise. They were gathering, screeching loudly.

“Charioteers!” Tantalus called, raising his voice above that of the birds, “Attend your mark!”

He waved his hand and the starting signal dropped. The chariots roared to life and hooves thundered against the dirt as the crowd cheered.

Almost immediately, there was a loud  _ crack!  _ The Doctor spun around to see the Apollo chariot flip over after the Hermes chariot had rammed into it. The riders were thrown free, but their panicked horses dragged the golden chariot diagonally across the track. Connor and Travis Stoll from the Hermes team were laughing at their good luck, but only until the Apollo horses crashed into them, flipping the chariot and leaving a pile of broken wood and four rearing horses in the dust.

Poseidon’s chariot was pulling ahead of Ares’s, but Athena’s was far ahead of both of them. Behind, Hephaestus’s chariot was beginning to gain. Beckendorf pressed a button, and a panel slid open on the side of his chariot.

“Sorry, Percy!” He yelled. Three sets of balls and chains shot straight towards their wheels, but Tyson whacked them aside with a quick swipe of his pole. He gave the Hephaestus chariot a shove and sent them skittering sideways whilst Poseidon’s chariot pulled ahead.

“Nice work, Tyson!” Percy yelled. It was nice to see the boy encouraging his half-brother that way.

“Birds!” He cried.

“What?” Percy called back.

Tyson pointed towards the woods where the pigeons had risen from the trees and were spiraling like a massive tornado.

The Poseidon chariot made the first turn, the wheels creaking as it threatened to tip, but they were closing in on Annabeth.

Athena’s fighter pulled a javelin from his collection and took aim. He was about to throw when they heard screaming.

The pigeons were swarming, thousands of them, dive-bombing the spectators in the stands, attacking the other chariots. Beckendorf was mobbed, his fighter attempted to bat the birds away, but couldn’t see a thing. The chariot veered off course and plowed through the strawberry fields, the mechanical horses steaming. 

In the Ares chariot, Clarisse barked an order to her fighter, who quickly threw a screen of camouflage netting over their basket. The birds swarmed around it, pecking and clawing at the fighter’s hands as he attempted to hold up the net, but Clarisse gritted her teeth and continued to drive, her skeletal horses seemingly immune to the distraction as the pigeons pecked uselessly at their empty eye sockets and flying through their rib cages.

The spectators, on the other hand, were not as fortunate. The birds were slashing into any bit of exposed flesh, driving everyone into a panic.

“Stymphalian birds.” The Doctor breathed, suddenly appearing beside Percy, “Turn around.”

“What?”

“We have to help, they’ll strip everyone to bones if we don’t.”

Percy steered the chariot towards the stands, Annabeth right beside them. “Heroes to arms!” She shouted. 

Percy drew Riptide and slashed them from the air, leaving a pile of dust and feathers, but there still were thousands of them left.

The closer they got to the stands, the thicker the cloud of birds became. Some of the spectators were attempting to fight back; Athena’s cabin called for shields and Apollo’s cabin brought out their bows and arrows, ready to slay the menace, but with so many campers mixed with so many birds, it wasn’t safe to shoot.

After crossing the finish line, Clarisse jumped from her chariot, drawing her sword, and charged towards the stands.

The Doctor pulled out the sonic, but the wave of noise only caused the birds to zero-in on the source, ripping and scratching at the Doctor, who continued to try to fight them off.

“Archers!” Annabeth shouted. And with the pigeons no longer attacking them, Apollo’s archers could properly begin to shoot the birds down. With flawless aim, most of them knocked five or six arrows at once, and within minutes, the ground was littered with dead bronze-beaked pigeons. 

The Doctor looked around at the wreckage. Down at the track, chariots were in flames. Most everyone at the camp was wounded and bleeding, the kids from Aphrodite’s cabin were screaming because their hairdos had been ruined and their clothes ripped to shreds, and Tantalus was still chasing biscuits.

Finally, he looked up. “Bravo!” He called, looking at Clarisse. “We have our first winner!” He awarded her the golden laurels for the race. The girl looked stunned.

He then turned to Percy, Annabeth, Tyson, and the Doctor. “And now to punish the troublemakers who disrupted this race.”


	7. A New Quest

The way Tantalus seemed to see it, the Stymphalian birds would have never attacked if the Doctor, Tyson, Percy, and Annabeth had not disturbed them. He decided that the four of them were to be sentenced to kitchen patrol, which meant scrubbing pots and platters in the underground kitchen all afternoon with the cleaning harpies. The harpies washed with lava instead of water so as to eliminate all bacteria, and so the Doctor, Percy, and Annabeth wore asbestos gloves and aprons. Tyson, on the other hand, didn’t mind, plunging his bare hands directly in and beginning to scrub.

The Doctor didn’t particularly mind this. It gave them plenty of time to talk, but Percy and Annabeth didn’t like it at all, as Tantalus had ordered a special luncheon banquet to celebrate Clarisse’s chariot victory. 

After re-explaining his dream to Annabeth, she said,

“If he’s really found it,” she murmured, “and if we could retrieve it –”

“Hold on,” Percy said, “You act like this… whatever-it-is Grover found is the only thing in the world that could save the camp. What  _ is  _ it?”

“Thalia’s tree was poisoned by Elder Python Venom,” the Doctor explained. “It has no cure. The only thing that  _ could  _ potentially cure it, is the Golden Fleece.”

“What?”

“There were these two children of Zeus, Cadmus and Europa.” Annabeth began, “They were about to get offered up as human sacrifices when they prayed to Zeus to save them. So Zeus sent this magical flying ram with golden wool, which picked them up in Greece and carried them all the way to Colchis in Asia Minor.”

“It took Cadmus,” The Doctor corrected, “Europa fell off and died along the way.”

“The  _ point  _ is,” Annabeth shot an irritated look at the Doctor, “when Cadmus got to Colchis, he sacrificed the golden ram to the gods and hung the Fleece in a tree in the middle of the kingdom. The Fleece brought prosperity to the land; animals stopped getting sick, plants grew better, farmers had bumper crops, plagues visited.”

“Polyphemus has to have it.” The Doctor said, “It would explain a lot.”

“Then we can rescue him  _ and  _ save the camp at the same time!” Percy said, “It’s perfect!”

“A little _ too  _ perfect, don’t you think? What if it’s a trap?”

“I walk into traps all the time,” The Doctor said, “We’ll figure it out when we get there. I’ve got a plan.”

“And what is it?”

“Well, I’ll have one by the time we get there.”

“Annabeth,” Percy said, “What other choice do we have? We need to rescue Grover.”

She glanced at Tyson, who had lost interest in their conversation and was happily making toy boats from cups and spoons in the lava.

“Look,” She said under her breath, “We’ll have to fight a Cyclops. Polyphemus is the  _ worst  _ of the Cyclopes. And there’s only one place his island could be –”

“The Sea of Monsters.” The Doctor finished for her.

“Where is that?” Percy asked.

“The Sea of Monsters,” Annabeth said, staring at Percy as though he were playing dumb, “The same sea Odysseus sailed through, and Jason, and Aeneas, and all the others.”

“You mean the Mediterranean?”

“The Sea of Monsters is like Olympus,” The Doctor explained before Annabeth could chastise him, “It moves when the West’s center of power shifts.”

“Oh.” Percy hesitated. “But a whole sea full of monsters – how could you hide something like that? Wouldn’t the mortals notice weird things happening… like ships getting eaten and stuff?”

“Percy, think about it.” The Doctor said. “Where by Florida is known for vanishing ships and mysterious disappearances?”

“The Bermuda Triangle.” He realized.

“Anyway,” Annabeth said dismissively, “We’ll have to talk to Tantalus, get approval for a quest. He’ll say no.”

“Not if we tell him tonight at the campfire in front of everybody.” Percy pointed out. “The whole camp will hear. They’ll pressure him. He won’t be able to refuse.”

“Oh, Percy, you’re brilliant.”

That evening at the campfire, Apollo’s cabin led the sing-along, attempting desperately to get everyone’s spirits up. It wasn’t easy. They all sat around a semicircle of stone steps, singing half-heartedly and watching the bonfire blaze and crackle whilst the Apollo kids strummed their guitars and picked their lyres.

Even the fire was dimmed. Usually, it was massive, maybe twenty feet high, bright purple and hot enough to catch fire to the marshmallows of the first row. Today, it was a mere five feet tall, barely warm, and flames the colour of lint.

Dionysus left early after suffering through a few songs, muttering about how even pinochle with Chiron had been more exciting than this. He gave Tantalus a nasty and distasteful look as he made his way back towards the Big House.

Once the last song ended, Tantalus said, “Well, that was lovely.” He came forth with a toasted marshmallow on a stick and attempted to pluck it off. Before he could, it flew off the stick, diving into the flames. Tantalus turned back towards the campers, smiling coldly. “Now then! Some announcements about tomorrow’s schedule.”

“Oi, sir.” The Doctor stood.

Tantalus’s eye twitched. “Our kitchen boy has something to say?”

“Yes.” The Doctor said boldly. “The Golden Fleece has been located and I would like to formally make a request to assemble a quest to retrieve it.”

The camp exploded in noise.

“Silence!” Tantalus dampened the noise of the camp, but by no means silenced it. “Our camp needs no saving.”

“Who said anything about saving?” The Doctor asked. “Or are you telling me that you  _ know  _ people want to help our camp and you won’t do it.”

“And where might you have acquired such information,  _ boy. _ ” Tantalus snarled out.

“The Graeae.” The Doctor said boldly. “It’s in the Sea of Monsters, 30, 31, 75, 12.” The Doctor listed off the numbers the Graeae had given them.

“Okay…” Tantalus said, “Thank you for sharing those meaningless numbers.”

“Oh, you  _ are  _ thick.” The Doctor spat out. “They’re sailing coordinates. Latitude and longitude. 30 degrees, 31 minutes north, 75 degrees, 12 minutes west. It’s in the Atlantic off the coast of Florida.” He grinned. “I think we need a quest.”

“Wait just a minute,” Tantalus said, but the campers were not backing down off of something like this. They began to chant: “We need a quest! We need a quest!” 

As they cheering got louder, the flames rose higher.

“It isn’t necessary!” Tantalus insisted.

“WE NEED A QUEST! WE NEED A QUEST!”

“Fine!” Tantalus shouted, his eyes blazing with anger. “You brats want me to assign a quest?”

“YES!”

“Very well,” He agreed. “I shall authorize a champion to undertake this perilous journey to retrieve the Golden Fleece and bring it back to camp. Or die trying.”

Tantalus looked at the Doctor as though he wanted to set fire to him. “The champion should be one who has earned the camp’s respect, who has proven resourceful in the chariot races and courageous in the defense of the camp. You shall lead this quest… Clarisse!”

The fire flickered a thousand different colours as the Ares cabin began stomping and cheering, “CLARISSE! CLARISSE!”

“Clarisse stood up, looking stunned. She swallowed, “I accept the quest!”

The Doctor could see Percy about to protest, but he placed a hand in front of his chest.

“Now, I shall tell you a ghost story.” Tantalus said, grinning like a cheshire cat. “Once upon a time there was a mortal king who was beloved of the gods!” Tantalus put a hand to his chest. “This king,” he continued, “was even allowed to feast on Mount Olympus. But when he tried to take some ambrosia and nectar back to earth to figure out the recipe – just one little doggie bag, mind you – the gods punished him. They banned him from their halls forever! His own people mocked him! His children scolded him. And, oh yes, campers, he had horrible children. Children just like you!” He pointed a crooked finger to several people, including the Doctor. “Do you know what he did to his ungrateful children?” Tantalus asked softly. “Do you know how he paid back the gods for their cruel punishment? He invited the Olympians to a feast at his palace, just to show there were no hard feelings. No one noticed that his children were missing. And when he served the gods dinner, my dear campers, can you guess what was in the stew?”

No one answered, but everyone knew.

“Oh, the gods punished him in the afterlife,” Tantalus croaked. “They did indeed. But he’d had his moment of satisfaction, hadn’t he? His children never again spoke back to him or questioned his authority. And do you know what? Rumor has it that the king’s spirit now dwells at this very camp, waiting for a chance to take revenge on ungrateful, rebellious children. And so… are there any more questions before we send Clarisse off on her quest?”

Silence.

Tantalus nodded at Clarisse. “The Oracle, my dear. Go on.”

She shifted uncomfortably, as though even  _ she  _ didn’t want glory at the price of being Tantalus’s pet. “Sir –”

“Go!” he snarled.

She bowed awkwardly and hurried off towards the Big House.

“What about you, John Smith?” Tantalus asked. “No comments from our dishwasher?”

“Actually, yes.” The Doctor said menacingly. “You disgust me. You are pathetic and small and if you even threaten to touch a single person at this camp, I’ll take you somewhere worse than the Underworld – yes, I’ve been there before, and I will go there again if it means to stop you.”

Tantalus stared. He certainly hadn’t expected that.

“Perhaps you ought to meet with me after Clarisse embarks on her quest.”

“I look forward to it.” The Doctor growled.

“Right, then.” Tantalus said, “And let me remind everyone – no one leaves this camp without my permission. Anyone who tries… well, if they survive the attempt, they will be expelled forever, but it won’t come to that. The harpies will be enforcing a curfew from now on, and they are always hungry! Good night, my dear campers. Sleep well.”

With a wave of Tantalus’s hand, the fire was extinguished and the campers all trailed off towards their cabins in the dark.

“Right, so we’re going anyways.” The Doctor said firmly to Percy and Tyson in the cabin that night. 

“I will help.” Tyson said hopefully.

“No, I – uh, I couldn’t ask you to do that, big guy.” Percy said. “Too dangerous.”

Tyson looked down at the pieces of metal he had been assembling in his lap.

“What are you building?” The Doctor asked. 

Tyson said nothing about it. Instead, he looked up and said, “Annabeth doesn’t like Cyclopes. You… don’t want me along?”

“Oh, it’s not that.” Percy said half-heartedly. “Annabeth likes you. Really.”

“She likes me and I’m not human either.” The Doctor said helpfully.

“Really?” Tyson looked up, his big eyes full of hope. “What are you?”

“I’m…” The Doctor hesitated, “I’m from a planet far away.”

“Star-man.” Tyson breathed.

The Doctor laughed. “Yeah, I’m a star-man.”

Despite the curfew, the Doctor and Percy ended up sneaking out towards the beach after Tyson had fallen asleep. The sky was clear and starry, and the Doctor was just showing Percy the constellations Sagittarius, Hercules, and Corona Borealis, when someone behind them said, “Beautiful, aren’t they?”

Standing right beside them was a man in nylon running shorts and a New York City Marathon T-shirt. He was slim and fit with salt-and-pepper hair and a sly smile. The Doctor may have thought he was a normal mortal had he not been radiating a god-like energy.

“Hello, Hermes.” The Doctor greeted the god.

“Hermes, like, as in Luke’s dad?”

Hermes pursed his lips. “‘Luke’s father.’ Normally, that’s not the first way people introduce me. The god of thieves, yes. The god of messengers and travelers, if they wish to be kind.”

“Sorry.” Percy said awkwardly.

“May I join you?” he asked. “I haven’t sat down in ages.”

“Uh, sure.”

A cell phone went off in his pocket. He sighed, removing his phone. It glowed a bluish light, and when he extended the antenna, two green snakes began writing around it. He checked his LCD display and cursed in Ancient Greek. “I’ve got to take this. Just a sec… Hello?”

He listened, the snakes writing up and down the antenna right beside his ear.

“Yeah,” he said, “Listen – I know, but… I don’t care if he  _ is  _ chained to a rock with cultures pecking at his liver, if he doesn’t have a tracking number, we can’t locate his package… A gift to humankind, great… You know how many of those we deliver – Oh, never mind. Listen, just refer him to Eris in customer service. I gotta go.”

He hung up. “Sorry. The overnight express business is just booming. Now, as I was saying –”

“You have snakes on your phone.” Percy said, looking somewhat dumbfounded.

“What? Oh, they don’t bite. Say hello, George and Martha.”

_ Hello, George and Martha,  _ a raspy male voice said as the Doctor granted them entrance to his head. 

_ Don’t be sarcastic. _ The female voice said.

_ Why not?  _ George demanded.  _ I do all the  _ real  _ work. _

“Oh, let’s not go into that again!” Hermes slipped his phone back into his pocket. “Now, where were we… Ah, yes. Peace and quiet.” He smiled kindly. “And so what now?”

Before either boy could answer, Martha’s muffled voice came from his pocket:  _ I have Demeter on line two. _

“Not now.” He said, “Tell her to leave a message.”

_ She’s not going to like that. Last time you put her off, all the flowers in the floral delivery division wilted. _

“Just tell her I’m in a meeting!” Hermes said.

_ Well, the least you could do is to go full-sized for us. It’s been months!  _ Martha whined.

_ Don’t listen to her!  _ George said.  _ She just wants to show off. _

Hermes sighed, taking out his phone and saying, “Original form, please.”

The phone glowed a brilliant blue and stretched into a massive three-foot long wooden staff with dove wings sprouting from the top. George and Martha, now much larger, coiled together at the middle, becoming a beautiful caduceus.

“So, what do you intend to do about the quest?” Hermes asked once again.

“We don’t have permission to go.” Percy said.

“No, indeed. Will that stop you?”

“Not a chance.” The Doctor murmured.

“I want to go.” Percy said, “I have to save Grover.”

Hermes smiled. “I knew a boy once… oh, younger than you, Percy, by far. A mere baby, really.”

_ Here we go again,  _ George said.  _ Always talking about himself. _

_ Quiet!  _ Martha snapped.  _ Do you want to get set on vibrate? _

Hermes ignored the both of them. “One night, when this boy’s mother wasn’t watching, he sneaked out of their cave and stole some cattle that belonged to Apollo.”

“Did he get blasted to tiny pieces?” Percy asked.

“Hmm… no. Actually, everything turned out quite well. To make up for his theft, the boy gave Apollo an instrument he’d invented – a lyre. Apollo was so enchanted with the music that he forgot all about being angry.”

“So, what’s the moral?” Percy asked.

“The moral?” Hermes smiled. “Goodness, you act like it’s a fable. It’s a true story. Does truth have a moral?”

“Well, you used the cattle to create the lyre, didn’t you?” The Doctor asked.

“Well, yes I did.”

“And Zeus didn’t punish you because he was more amused, yeah? And you played it, and Apollo offered the rest of his cattle for it. If you were to ask me, I would say the moral is that defying the rules can lead to incredible conclusions that may have the ability to off-balance the initial wrong that was done.”

Hermes seemed to process this for a moment. 

“Yes, I suppose it is.”

“Point is,” Percy said, “You think I should go anyway. Even without permission.”

Hermes’s eyes twinkled. “Martha, may I have the first package, please?”

Martha opened her mouth, and from it came a stainless steel canister. The sides were enameled with red and yellow Ancient Greek scenes – a hero killing a lion, a hero lifting Cerberus –

“That’s Hercules.” Percy said. “But how –”

“Never question a gift,” Hermes chided. “This is a collector’s item from  _ Hercules Busts Heads.  _ The first season.”

_ “Hercules Busts Heads?”  _

“Great show.” Hermes sighed. “Back before Hephaestus-TV was all reality programming. Of course, the thermos would be worth much more if I had the whole lunch box–”

_ Or if it hadn’t been in Martha’s mouth.  _ George added.

_ I’ll get you for that.  _ Martha began chasing him around the caduceus.

“Wait a minute,” Percy said. “This is a gift?”

“One of two.” Hermes said. “Go on, pick it up.”

Percy picked it up, nearly dropping it. He gasped. “It’s a compass! The side facing the north is always cold…”

Hermes looked a bit surprised. “Very clever. I never thought of that. But its intended use is a bit more dramatic. Uncap it, and you will release the winds from the four corners of the earth to speed you on your way.”

“Not now!” The Doctor grabbed Percy’s hand before it could open it.

“Yes,” Hermes said, relieved. “And please, when the time comes, only unscrew the lid a tiny bit. The winds are a bit like me – always restless. Should all four escape at once… ah, but I’m sure you’ll be careful. And now my second gift. George?”

_ She’s touching me,  _ George complained as he and Martha slithered around the pole.

“She’s  _ always  _ touching you.” Hermes pointed out. “You’re intertwined. And if you don’t stop that, you’ll get knotted again!”

The snakes stopped wrestling and George unhinged his jaw, coughing up a small plastic bottle filled with chewable vitamins.

“You’re kidding.” Percy said. “Are those Minotaur-shaped?”

Hermes picked up the bottle and rattled it. “The lemon ones, yes. The grape ones are Furies, I think. Or are they hydras? At any rate, these are potent. Don’t take one unless you really, really need it.”

“What are they?” The Doctor inquired with fascination.

“Helps protect you against any magical influence.” Hermes said. “It’s got everything you need to feel yourself again.”

“Lord Hermes,” Percy said, “Why are you helping us?”

He gave a melancholy smile. “Perhaps because I hope that you can save many people on this quest. Not just your friend Grover.”

“Luke.” The Doctor said quietly. “You think we can save him from his fate.”

“But we can’t.” Percy said. “He said he wanted to tear down Olympus stone by stone. He betrayed everybody he knew. He – he hates you, especially.”

Hermes gazed up at the stars. “My dear young cousin, if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the eons, it’s that you  _ can’t  _ give up on your family, no matter how tempting they make it. It doesn’t matter if they hate you, or embarrass you, or simply don’t appreciate your genius for inventing the internet –”

“You invented the internet?” Percy stared.

_ It was my idea.  _ Martha said proudly.

_ Rats are delicious.  _ George said.

“It was  _ my  _ idea!” Hermes said. “I mean, the internet, not rats. But that’s not the point. Do you understand what I’m saying about family?”

“In the end, it’s all we have left.” The Doctor said quietly. “And as good or bad as they are, as kind or as cruel, they are of our blood and bone and we cannot just abandon them.”

“Yes, I think you know that better than most, Time Lord.”

“What?”

“Word gets around.” Hermes smiled. “Worry not, none of the other gods know. Now, I must be going. And Percy,” He said. “You have a shorter deadline than you realize to complete your quest. Your friends should be coming right about… now.”

The Doctor could hear Annabeth’s voice calling for them. Tyson too, from a little further away.

“I hope I packed well for you, I do have some experience with travel.”

Hermes snapped his fingers and four yellow duffel bags appeared at the boys’ feet. “Waterproof, of course. If you ask nicely, your father should be able to help you reach the ship.”

“Ship?”

Hermes pointed and sure enough, a massive cruise ship was cutting across Long Island Sound, its white and gold lights glowed against the dark water. 

“Thank you, Hermes.” The Doctor said. “We owe you.”

“You owe me nothing.” Hermes smiled, “Nothing but to complete your quest. Good night, may the gods go with you.”

He opened his hand and the caduceus flew into it.

_ Good luck.  _ Martha told the boys.

_ Bring me back a rat.  _ George said.

The caduceus changed into a cell phone and Hermes slipped it into his pocket. He then jogged off down the beach for approximately twenty paces before he shimmered and vanished, leaving a team of four and a boat to catch.


	8. The Princess Andromeda

“What’s going on?” Annabeth breathed heavily as she drew to a stop before the boys. “I heard you guys calling for help!”

“Me too!” Tyson chirped in, “Heard you yell, ‘Bad things are attacking!’”

“We didn’t call you guys,” Percy said, “We’re fine.”

“But then who…” It was then that Annabeth noticed the four yellow duffel bags alongside the canteen and bottle of vitamins. “What –”

The Doctor quickly summed up their conversation with Hermes, but by the time he had finished, they could hear the screeching of the harpies in the distance.

“If we do this, we’ll get expelled.” Percy said. “Trust me, I’m an expert at getting expelled.”

“So?” Annabeth said. “If we fail, there won’t be any camp to come back to.”

“Look, I’m going.” The Doctor said. “You lot can stay behind or join me.”

“I think Tyson can stay behind and –” Annabeth began.

“I want to go.” Tyson protested.

“No!” Annabeth said quickly, her voice sounding close to panic. “I mean… come on.”

“We’re not leaving him.” The Doctor said firmly.

“Doctor,” Annabeth said desperately, “We’re going to Polyphemus’s island! Polyphemus is an S-i-k… a C-y-k…” Annabeth stomped her foot in frustration.

“C-y-c-l-o-p-s.” The Doctor spelled for her. As clever as she was, the Doctor did often forget that she, like Percy, was dyslexic.

“Tyson is coming, if you want, of course.” The Doctor said.

Tyson clapped his hands. “Want to!”

Annabeth glared at the Time Lord, but seemed to know that they didn’t have the time to argue. 

“All right.” She said, “How do we get to that ship?”

“Hermes said my father would help.” Percy said. 

“Well then, Seaweed Brain?” Annabeth snapped. “What are you waiting for?”

Percy awkwardly stepped into the waves.

“Um, Dad?” He called. “How’s it going?”

“Percy!” Annabeth whispered. “We’re in a hurry!”

“We need your help,” Percy called a little louder. “We need to get to that ship, like, before we get eaten and stuff, so…”

Nothing happened for a moment, the waves crashed against the shore, the harpies were getting closer and closer. 

Then, approximately a hundred yards out to sea, four white lines appeared on the surface, moving towards the shore.

As they approached the beach, the surf burst open and four beautiful creatures reared from the waves. Their fronts were white stallions, and their back halves were silvery fish with glistening scales and rainbow tail fins.

“Fish ponies!” Tyson breathed.

“Hippocampi!” The Doctor and Annabeth said in unison.

“They’re beautiful.” Annabeth whispered.

The nearest one whinnied in appreciation and nuzzled Annabeth.

“We’ll admire them later,” Percy said, “Come on!”

“There!” A voice screeched behind them. “Bad children out of cabins! Snack time for lucky harpies!” Five harpies fluttered over the top of the dunes. 

“Right, run!” Each camper grabbed a duffel bag and mounted a hippocampus. It seemed that Poseidon knew Tyson would be with them, as one hippocampus was larger than the other three.

“Giddyup!” Percy said awkwardly, and all four hippocampi made their way into the waves away from the harpies, and soon the shore of Camp Half-Blood was nothing but a dark smudge in the distance.

The Doctor, Percy, Tyson, and Annabeth rode the hippocampi smoothly and steadily through the waves. As they got closer to the cruise ship, the Doctor could see just how massive it was. It looked about ten stories high, topped with another dozen levels of decks with brightly lit balconies and portholes.  _ PRINCESS ANDROMEDA  _ was painted just above the bow in black lettering, lit with a spotlight. 

Attached to the bow was a large masthead – a three-story tall woman wearing a white Greek chiton, sculpted to look as though she were chained down. She was young with flowing black hair, but her expression was one of pure terror.

“She reminds me of Andromeda.” Annabeth said. 

“She got chained to a rock by her own parents as a sacrifice to a sea monster, right?” Percy asked.

“Andromeda was the beautiful daughter of king Cepheus and Queen Cassiope of Joppa.” The Doctor explained. “Cassiope offended the Nereids by boasting that Andromeda was more beautiful than they, and so in revenge, Poseidon sent a sea monster to devastate Cepheus’s kingdom. Since only Andromeda’s sacrifice would appease the ods, she was chained to a rock and left to be devoured by the monster. But Perseus, Percy’s namesake, flew by on Pegasus, fell in love with her, and asked Cepheus for her hand. Cepheus agreed and so Perseus slew the monster.”

“Oh.”

“As pleasant as that was,” Annabeth shouted over the noise of the waves, “How do we get aboard the ship?” But the hippocampi seemed to already know what they needed. They skimmed along the starboard side of the ship, riding easily through its huge wake, and pulled up next to the service ladder riveted to the side of the hull.

The Doctor went first, slinging his duffel bag over his shoulder, grabbing the bottom rung and hoisting himself onto the ladder. His hippocampus whinnied farewell and dove beneath the waves. Once he’d made it up a few rungs, Annabeth followed, then Percy, and finally it was Tyson’s turn. His hippocampus was treating him to aerials and backwards ollies. He was laughing so hysterically, that the sound echoed up the side of the ship.

“Tyson, shhh!” Percy hushed the Cyclops. “Come on, big guy!”

“Can’t we take Rainbow?” He asked, his smile fading.

_ “Rainbow?” _

“The hippocampus.” The Doctor said quickly.

“Well, Rainbow, he can’t climb ladders.” Percy said awkwardly. “Maybe we’ll see him again sometime.”

“Oh, please!” Tyson said, perking up, “Tomorrow!”

“I don’t know, maybe.” Percy said, finally convincing Tyson to say his farewells and grab ahold of the ladder. With a final sad whinny, Rainbow did a backflip and dove back into the sea.

The ladder led up to a maintenance deck stacked with yellow lifeboats. There was a set of locked double doors, which the Doctor easily unlocked with his Sonic. It may have been the middle of the night, but it was suspiciously quiet. 

“It’s a ghost ship.” Percy murmured.

“No.” Tyson said, fiddling with the strap of his duffel bag. “Bad smell.”

“I don’t smell anything.” Annabeth frowned.

“No, he means monsters.” The Doctor said, then turned back to Tyson, “Can you be any more specific?”

“No. Just bad.”

“Great.” Annabeth grumbled. “Helpful.”

They made their way outside on the swimming pool level. There were rows of empty deck chairs and a bar closed off with a chain curtain. The water in the pool glowed, sloshing back and forth from the motion of the ship.

Above them, fore and aft, were more levels; a climbing wall, a putt-putt golf course, a revolving restaurant, it was eerily reminiscent of the Lotus Hotel and Casino.

“We need a hiding place.” Percy said. “Somewhere safe to sleep.”

“Sleep.” Annabeth agreed wearily.

They explored a few more corridors until they found an empty suite on the ninth level. The door was open, which was suspicious. There was a basket of chocolates on the table, an iced down bottle of sparkling cider on the nightstand, and a mint on the pillow with a hand written note that said:  _ Enjoy your cruise! _

For the first time, the four of them opened their duffel bags. Inside of it was clothes, toiletries, camp rations, a Ziploc bag full of cash, a leather pouch full of drachmas, and Hermes had even managed to pack Tyson’s oilcloth with his tools and metal bits, as well as Annabeth’s invisibility cap.

“I’ll be next door.” Annabeth said. “You guys  _ don’t  _ drink or eat anything.”

“You think this place is enchanted?” Percy asked.

“I don’t know.” She frowned. “Something isn’t right. Just… be careful.”

They locked the doors.

Tyson crashed on the couch. He tinkered for a few minutes on his metalworking project – which he still wouldn’t show anyone – but soon enough he was yawning, and wrapped up his oilcloth and passed out.

The Doctor lay on the floor, his brain unable to stop racing. He could hear Percy’s breathing slow as the boy finally fell asleep. 

Percy soon began to mumble in his sleep. The Doctor stood, placing his fingers on the boy’s temples.

The Doctor was thrown into a cavern at the edge of a massive pit. Tartarus. This was the entrance to Tartarus. A cold laugh echoed from the darkness below.

_ If it isn’t the young hero.  _ The voice said.  _ On his way to another great victory.  _ Kronos was mocking Percy.  _ Don’t let me stop you,  _ the titan said.  _ Perhaps this time, when you fail, you’ll wonder if it’s worthwhile slaving for the gods. How exactly  _ has  _ your father shown his appreciation lately? _

Kronos’s laughter filled the cavern, and the scene suddenly changed. It was in a different cave now, in Grover’s bedroom prison in the Cyclops’s lair. The satyr was sitting at the loom in his soiled wedding dress, madly unraveling the threads of the unfinished bridal chain, just like Penelope. 

“Honeypie!” The Cyclops shouted from behind the boulder. Grover yelped and began weaving the threads back together. 

The room shook as the boulder was pushed aside. Looming in the doorway was Polyphemous. He had jagged yellow teeth and gnarled hands. He wore a faded purple T-shirt that said: WORLD SHEEP EXPO 2001. Besides his massive height, the most startling thing was his enormous milky eye, scarred and webbed with cataracts. If he wasn’t completely blind, he must have been pretty close.

“What are you doing?” Polyphemous demanded.

“Nothing!” Grover said in his falsetto voice. “Just weaving my bridal train, as you can see.”

The Cyclops stuck one hand into the room and groped around until he found the loom. He pawed at the cloth. “It hasn’t gotten any longer!”

“Oh, um, yes it has, dearest. See? I’ve added at least an inch.”

“Too many delays!” He bellowed, then sniffed the air. “You smell good! Like goats!”

“Oh.” Grover forced a weak giggle. “Do you like it? It’s  _ Eau de Chèvre.  _ I wore it just for you.”

“Mmmm!” Polyphemus bared his pointed teeth. “Good enough to eat!”

“Oh, you’re such a flirt!”

“No more delays!”

“But dear, I’m not done!”

“Tomorrow!”

“No, no. Ten more days.”

“Five!”

“Oh, well, seven then. If you insist.”

“Seven! That is less than five, right?”

“Certainly. Oh yes.”

The Cyclops grumbled, still not happy with his deal, but he left Grover to his weaving and rolled the boulder back into place.

Grover closed his eyes and took a shaky breath, trying to calm his nerves.

“Hurry, Percy,” He muttered. “Please, please, please!”

The Doctor was pulled back into consciousness at the ship’s whistle and a voice on the intercom. “Good morning, passengers! We’ll be at sea all day today. Excellent weather for the poolside mambo party! Don’t forget million-dollar bingo in the Kraken Lounge at one o’clock, and for our  _ special guests,  _ disemboweling practice on the Promenade!”

Percy sat up quickly, jumping back at the sight of the Doctor so close. “What did he say?”

Tyson groaned, still half asleep. He was lying facedown on the couch, his feet so far over the edge they were in the bathroom. “The happy man said… bowling practice?”

_ “Disemboweling  _ practice?” Annabeth stuck her head in the room.

Once the four of them were all dressed and ready, they ventured out into the ship, and finally saw other people. A dozen senior citizens were heading to breakfast. A father was taking his children to the pool for a morning swim. Crew members in crisp white uniforms strolled the deck, tipping their hats to the passengers.

Nobody asked who they were. Nobody paid them attention at all. But something was very wrong.

As the family of swimmers passed by, the father told his children: “We are on a cruise. We are having fun.”

“Yes,” his three children said, their expressions blank. “We are having a blast. We will swim in the pool.”

They wandered off.

“Good morning,” a crew member said to the group, his eyes glazed. “We are all enjoying ourselves aboard the  _ Princess Andromeda.  _ Have a nice day.” He drifted away.

“Something’s not right.” The Doctor said.

They passed the cafeteria and saw their first monster of the ship. It was a hellhound – a black mastiff with its front paws up on the buffet line and its muzzle buried in the scrambled eggs. It must have been young because it was small compared to most, no bigger than a grizzly bear. But the middle aged couple behind him in the buffet line right behind it was patiently waiting their turn for eggs, not noticing the oddity.

“Not hungry anymore.” Tyson murmured.

Before anyone could respond, a reptilian voice came from down the corridor. “Sssseven more joined yesssterday.”

Annabeth gestured frantically towards the nearest hiding place – the women’s room – and all four of them ducked inside.

Two creatures slithered past the bathroom door, dragging across the carpet like sandpaper.

“Yesss,” The second reptilian voice said. “He drawsss them. Ssssoon we will be sssstrong.”

They slithered into the cafeteria with a cold hissing laughter.

“Right, we need to get out of here.” The Doctor whispered, but before any of the others could respond, they heard a voice that made them freeze.

“– only a matter of time. Don’t push me, Agrius!” Luke’s voice was quiet but menacing.

“I’m not pushing you!” The voice that must have been Argus’s growled. “I’m just saying, if this gamble doesn’t pay off –”

“It’ll pay off,” Luke snapped. “They’ll take the bait. Now, come, we’ve got to get to the admiralty suite and check on the casket.”

Their voices receded as they made their way down the corridor.

Tyson whimpered. “Leave now?”

The Doctor, Percy, and Annabeth exchanged a look and came to a silent conclusion. 

“We can’t.” Percy said.

“We’ve got to find out what Luke’s up to.” The Doctor agreed.

“And if possible,” Annabeth said grimly, “we’re going to beat him up, bind him in chains, and drag him to Mount Olympus.”


	9. A Confrontation

Annabeth insisted she go alone since she had her cap of invisibility, but the Doctor made it very clear that there was no way he wouldn’t be going, and Percy piped up that he was coming too – it was everybody goes or no one does.

“Nobody!” Tyson voted. “Please?”

But in the end, he came along too. They grabbed their bags back at the cabin, Tyson insisting that he carry all four of them, which he could do with ease. They snuck through the corridors, following the maps about the ship towards the admiralty suite. Annabeth scooted ahead invisibly, warning them whenever someone was coming so that they could hide. But the only people who ever passed by were humans in a trance-like state.

As they approached the steps to deck thirteen where the suite was supposed to be, Annabeth hissed for them to hide, shoving the three of them into a supply closet.

“You see that Aethiopian drakon in the cargo hold?” A voice said as it passed.

“Yeah, it’s awesome.” Another voice laughed. It took the Doctor a second, but he realized that the second voice was Chris Rodriguez, a boy from Cabin Eleven from Camp Half-Blood. “I hear they got two more coming. They keep arriving at this rate, oh, man – no contest!”

The voices faded down the corridor.

“That was Chris Rodriguez!” Annabeth gasped, removing her cap and becoming visible again.

“What’s another half-blood doing here?” Percy asked.

Annabeth simply shook her head, looking troubled.

They continued making their way down the corridor. The Doctor could feel the dark energy growing around them. They were getting close to something dark.

“Doctor, look!” Annabeth suddenly stopped. She stood before a glass wall looking down into the multistory canyon that ran through the middle of the ship. At the bottom was the Promenade, but that wasn’t what had caught Annabeth’s attention. No, it was the group of monsters assembled before a candy store, a dozen Laistrygonians, two hellhounds, and a few Scythian Dracaenae. These monsters made a semicircle around a young boy in Greek armor who was hacking on a straw dummy. This dummy was wearing a Camp Half-Blood T-shirt. As the four of them watched, the boy stabbed the dummy through its torso and ripped upwards. Straw flew everywhere and the monsters cheered and howled.

Annabeth was the first to step away from the window, her face ashen.

“Come on,” The Doctor encouraged, stepping away as well. “We need to keep moving.”

At the end of the hallway there were important-looking double oak doors. The Doctor could hear voices coming from within it. Just as he mentioned this, Tyson said.

“Voices inside.”

“You guys can hear that far?” Percy stared at the both of them.

The Doctor listened, he could hear Luke’s voice.

“– the prophecy ourselves. The fools won’t know which way to turn.”

You really think the old horseman is gone for good?” The other voice asked. He must be talking about Chiron. 

Luke laughed, “They can’t trust him. Not with the skeletons in  _ his  _ closet. The poisoning of the tree was the final straw.”

There was a whisper too quiet for the Doctor to make out.

“Quiet!” Luke’s voice said, “Are you sure?”

“Yes.” The other said, “Right outside.”

“Run!” The Doctor cried, just as the doors burst open. There was Luke, flanked by two hairy giants armed with javelins, their bronze tips aimed directly at the Heroes’ chests.

“Well,” Luke said with a crooked smile. “If it isn’t my favorite three cousins. Come right in.”

“I’m not your cousin.” The Doctor mumbled as he was forced forwards.

The stateroom was gorgeous, massive windows curved along the back wall and looking out over the stern of the ship. A Persian rug covered the floor, two plush sofas occupied the middle of the room with a canopied bed in one corner and a mahogany dining table in the other. The table was loaded with food, pizza boxes, bottles of soda, and a stack of roast beef sandwiches on a silver platter. 

But it was also terrible. On a velvet dais at the back of the room lay a ten-foot long golden casket, a sarcophagus engraved with scenes of Ancient Greek cities in flames and heroes dying grisly deaths. Despite the sunlight streaming through the windows, the casket made the entire room feel dark and cold.

“Well,” Luke said, spreading his arms proudly. “A little nicer than Cabin Eleven, huh?”

Luke had changed since the last summer. Instead of Bermuda shorts and a T-shirt, he wore a button-down shirt, khaki pants, and leather loafers. His sandy hair, once unruly, was now short. 

“Sit.” He demanded, waving his hand. Three dining chairs scooted themselves into the center of the room, but no one sat. 

Luke’s mates were still pointing their javelins at the Doctor, Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson. The two were identical, approximately eight feet tall, wearing only blue jeans, their chests were carpeted with thick brown fur, their noses snoutlike, and their teeth all pointed canines.

“Agrius and Oreius.” The Doctor said knowledgeably.

“Ah, so you know them?” Luke said.

“Cannibals, children of Polyphonte, yes, I’m aware.”

Luke made himself comfortable on the sofa and propped his feet up on the coffee table.

“Well, Percy,” Luke said, turning to the son of Poseidon. “We let you survive another year. I hope you appreciated it. How’s your mom? How’s school?”

“You didn’t  _ let  _ him do anything.” The Doctor scoffed, “You will not touch that boy as long as he’s with me.”

“You cannot protect him.” Luke laughed, “No one can.”

The Doctor approached Luke, Agrius and Oreius followed, spears touching his chest.

“Don’t underestimate me.” He growled, a flicker of rage in his eyes.

“You poisoned Thalia’s tree.” Annabeth said suddenly, her eyes fixed on Luke, “How could you do that? Thalia saved your life –  _ Our  _ lives! How could you dishonor her –”

“I didn’t dishonor her!” Luke snapped. “The gods dishonored her, Annabeth! If Thalia were alive, she’d be on my side!”

“Liar!” Annabeth shouted.

“If you knew what was coming, you’d understand –”

“I understand you want to destroy the camp!” She yelled. “You’re a monster!”

Luke shook his head. “The gods have blinded you. Can’t you imagine a world without them, Annabeth? What good is that ancient history you study? Three thousand years of baggage! The West is rotten to the core. It has to be destroyed. Join me! We can start the world anew. We could use your intelligence, Annabeth.”

The Doctor laughed. “You think they’re  _ so _ powerful, but all they do is change the details of things. It’s humans that change the massive things. Just like the gods, you underestimate them.”

“I am  _ nothing  _ like the gods.” Luke spat. “You all really like to be on the losing team… with company like this?” He pointed to Tyson.

“Oi!”

“Traveling with a  _ Cyclops, _ ” Luke chided. “Talk about dishonoring Thalia’s memory! I’m surprised at you, Annabeth. You of all people –”

“If you say one more word.” The Doctor threatened, but Luke only laughed.

“How many insults from the gods can you take?” He asked.

“Your father sent us.” The Doctor said, catching Luke off-guard, “He cares for you, despite what you’ve become.”

“Don’t even mention him.” Luke spat, his face turning a deep red. 

“He told us to take this boat.” Percy nodded. “I thought it was just for a ride, but he sent us here to find you. He told us he won’t give up on you, no matter how angry you are.”

_ “Angry?”  _ Luke roared.  _ “Give up on me?  _ He abandoned me, Percy! I want Olympus destroyed! Every throne crushed to rubble! You tell Hermes it’s going to happen, too. Each time a half-blood joins us, the Olympians grow weaker and we grow stronger.  _ He  _ grows stronger.” Luke gestured to the gold sarcophagus.

“Luke, if he comes back –” The Doctor began, but Luke only laughed.

“Not if, Doctor, but when. He is reforming. Little by little, we’re calling his life force out of the pit. With every recruit who pledges our cause, another small piece appears.”

“Luke, you can’t do this.” 

“Join us and you’ll be rewarded.” Luke said. “We have powerful friends, sponsors rich enough to buy this cruise ship and much more. Percy, your mother will never have to work again. You can buy her a mansion. You can have power, fame – whatever you want. Annabeth, you can realize your dream of being an architect. You can build a monument to last a thousand years. A temple to the lords of the next age! Doctor, you can do anything, go anywhere.”

“You still don’t get it.” The Doctor laughed, “We don’t care. We will  _ never _ join you.”

Luke sighed. “A shame.”

He picked up a controler, pressing a red button. Within seconds, the door of the stateroom opened and two uniformed crew members came in, armed with nightsticks. They had the same glassy-eyed look as the other humans on the boat. 

“Ah, good, security.” Luke said. “I’m afraid we have some stowaways.”

“Yes, sir.” They said together.

Luke turned to Oreius. “It’s time to feed the Aethiopian dragon. Take these fools below and show them how it’s done.”

Oreius grinned, giggling like a maniac.

“Let me go too,” Agrius grumbled. “My brother is worthless. That Cyclops –”

“Is no threat.” Luke said, giving the golden casket a troubled glance. “Agrius, stay here. We have important matters to discuss.”

“But –”

“Oreius, don’t fail me. Stay in the hold and make sure the drakon is properly fed.”

Oreius prodded the Doctor forwards with his javelin, the others behind him, and herded them out of the stateroom, followed by the two human security guards.

They exited the corridor and walked across an open deck lined with lifeboats. The Doctor used this opportunity. Suddenly stopping and ducking down, he managed to trip one of the security guards, Annabeth tackled the other, and Tyson turned and punched Oreius, sending him thirty feet backwards into the swimming pool. 

“Ah!” The kids in the pool cried in unison. “We are  _ not  _ having a blast in the pool!”

One of the security guards drew his nightstick, but Annabeth knocked the wind out of him with a well-placed kick. The other guard hit the alarm.

Red lights flashed and sirens wailed.

“Run!” The Doctor yelled.

“Lifeboats!” Percy suggested.

By the time they got the cover off of the lifeboats, monsters and more security were swarming the deck, pushing aside tourists and waiters with trays of tropical beverages. A boy in Greek armor drew his sword and charged, but slipped in a puddle of piña colada. Laistrygonian archers assembled on the deck above them, notching arrows in their enormous bows.

“How do you launch this thing?” Annabeth screamed. The Doctor buzzed the sonic just as Percy and Tyson jumped in beside Annabeth, the Doctor jumping in slightly behind as the lifeboat fell from the ship into the ocean below.


	10. A New Member of the Crew

As they hit the water, the lifeboat unlatched and they were free, but javelins and arrows were still flying.

“Doctor, thermos!” Percy shouted. The Doctor grabbed the thermos from his rucksack and tossed it to Percy, who hooked his feet under the boat’s inflatable bench and gave the cap a quarter turn.

Immediately, a white sheet of wind jetted out of the thermos and propelled the boat forwards, they went flying across the water, in just moments they were out of weapon range. The  _ Princess Andromeda  _ faded behind them and finally it disappeared over the horizon.

As they raced over the ocean, the Doctor, Percy, and Annabeth attempted to send an Iris-message to Chiron. Fortunately for them, the wind from the thermos stirred up a nice sea spray that made a rainbow in the sunlight – perfect for an Iris-message – but the connection was still poor. When Annabeth threw a gold drachma into the mist and prayed for the rainbow goddess to show them Chiron, his face appeared, but there were some interesting strobe lights in the background and rock music as blaring.

Percy explained to him about sneaking away from camp, Luke and the  _ Princess Andromeda,  _ as well as the golden box for Kronos’s remains, but between the noise on his end and the rushing wind and water on theirs, the Doctor wasn’t exactly sure how much the Centaur heard.

“Percy,” Chiron yelled, “You have to watch out for –” But his voice was drowned out by loud shouting behind him – a number of voices whooping and cheering.

“What?” Percy yelled.

“Curse my relatives!” Chiron ducked as a plate flew over his head and shattered somewhere out of view. “Annabeth, you shouldn’t have let Percy leave camp! But if you  _ do  _ get the Fleece –”

“Yeah, baby!” Someone behind Chiron yelled, “Woohooooooo!”

The music got even louder, as did the cheering.

“– Miami!” Chiran was yelling, “I’ll try to keep watch –” 

The misty screen smashed apart as though someone on the other side had thrown a bottle at it, and Chiron was gone.

It wasn’t for another hour that they spotted land. It was a long stretch of beach, lined with high-rise hotels, the water crowded with fishing boats and tankers. A coast guard cruiser passed on their right, then turned as though they wanted a second look. 

“That’s Virginia Beach!” Annabeth cried as they approached the shoreline. “Oh my gods, how did the  _ Princess Andromeda  _ travel so far overnight? That’s like –”

“Five hundred and thirty nautical miles.” Percy suddenly recited.

“How do you know that?” Annabeth demanded.

“Oh, that’s brilliant.” The Doctor grinned.

“What?” Percy and Annabeth asked.

“Poseidon’s your father, Percy,” The Doctor explained, “You must have a brilliant sense-of-direction in the sea.”

“No way.” Percy said in awe.

“What’s our current position?” The Doctor inquired.

“36 degrees, 44 minutes north, 76 degrees, 2 minutes west.” He said immediately. “Woah.”

“That’s  _ so  _ cool.” Annabeth said.

“Other boat is coming.” Tyson suddenly identified.

The Doctor turned around to see the coast guard vessel was definitely on their tail now. Its lights were flashing and it was gaining speed.

“We can’t let them catch us.” Percy said. “They’ll ask too many questions.”

“Nah,” The Doctor argued, “I’m brilliant with people. Maybe we can catch a ride.”

“Look, Doc, I don’t care if you’re good with people,” Annabeth said, “We are not taking a risk like that.”

“Fine. Have it your way, then.”

“Keep going to Chesapeake Bay.” Annabeth instructed Percy. “I know a place we can hide.”

Percy loosened the thermos cap a little more, causing a fresh burst of wind to send them rocketing around the northern tip of Virginia Beach and into Chesapeake Bay. The coast guard boat fell further and further behind. They didn’t slow until the shores of the bay narrowed on either side, and they had entered the mouth of the Elizabeth River. 

“There, past that sandbar.” Annabeth instructed, and they veered into a swampy area choked with marsh grass, beaching the lifeboat at the foot of a large cypress. Vine-covered trees loomed above them, and insects chirred in the woods. The air was muggy and humid, and steam curled off the river.

“Come on,” Annabeth said. “It’s just down the bank.”

“What is?” The Doctor inquired.

“Just follow.” She replied grumpily, “And we’d better cover the boat. We don’t want to draw attention.” But there was something underneath the face she put on, something darker, afraid, scarred.

After burying the lifeboat with branches, the Doctor, Tyson, and Percy followed Annabeth along the shore, the Doctor’s feet sinking in the red mud as a snake slithered past, disappearing into the grass.

“Not a good place.” Tyson said as he swatted mosquitoes from the air.

After another few minutes, Annabeth finally said, “Here.”

Annabeth moved aside a woven circle of branches, revealing a camouflaged shelter. Inside was more than big enough for three; the walls were woven from scavenged materials from the forest, thatched to make the entire thing waterproof. Stacked in the corner, were sleeping bags, blankets, an ice chest, and a kerosene lamp. There were demigod provisions as well; bronze javelin tips, a quiver full of arrows, an extra sword, as well as a box of ambrosia. The place had very clearly been vacant for a long time, though, as the place smelled musty and a layer of dust covered the hideout.

“A half-blood hideout.” Percy stared at Annabeth, “You  _ made  _ this place?”

“Thalia and I,” she said quietly. “And Luke.”

“So…” Percy said awkwardly. “You don’t think Luke will look for us here?”

Annabeth shook her head. “We made a dozen safe houses like this. I doubt Luke even remembers where they are. Or cares.”

She threw herself down on the blankets and started to go through her duffel bag. 

“Percy, can you and Tyson go out and find some food?” The Doctor asked.

“Y-yeah, sure.” Percy said awkwardly, attempting to go for a stoic look, but it didn’t hide the flash of jealousy that the Doctor caught in his eyes.

Percy and Tyson walked off to find the nearest convenience store. The moment he was gone, the Doctor sat down, gesturing for Annabeth to do the same.

Begrudgingly, the girl sat.

“Grover told me what happened, well, some of it.”

“He did?” Annabeth sounded almost angry.

“Annabeth, it wasn’t your fault.”

“Look, just leave it alone.” Annabeth snapped. 

“There’s a reason you don’t like Tyson,” The Doctor continued anyways, “What is it?”

Annabeth sighed. “The real reason Thalia died, Doctor, it was because of a Cyclops.” She drew a shaky breath. “You can never trust a Cyclops, Doctor –”

“That’s a little racist.” The Doctor pointed out. 

Annabeth gave him a nasty look. “Doctor, you don’t get it – Six years ago, on the night Grover was leading us to Half-Blood Hill –”

“We’re coming back in!” Percy called, removing the door.

“Powdered donuts!” Tyson said proudly, holding up a pastry box.

Annabeth stared at them. “Where did you guys get that? We’re in the middle of the wilderness. There’s nothing around for –”

“Fifty feet.” Tyson said. “Monster Donut shop – just over the hill!”

“How did you not notice this?” Annabeth cursed Percy.

The four of them were crouching behind a tree, staring at the donut shop in the middle of the woods. It looked new, with brightly lit windows, a parking bay, as well as a small road leading off into the forest, but nothing else around, no cars in the bay, and the only person they saw was one employee reading a magazine behind the cash register. In massive black letters on the shop’s marquis was: 

**MONSTER DONUT**

Well, we kinda split up.” Percy said awkwardly.

“Percy wanted to stay with the door.” Tyson said helpfully.

“You were eavesdropping on us!” Annabeth hissed.

“No – I mean – I didn’t – uh –” 

“Just shut up.” Annabeth silenced him. “All this is wrong.” She gestured to the shop. “This shouldn’t be here.”

“What do you mean? It’s just a donut shop.” Percy said, but Annabeth silenced him with a single look.

“It’s a monster donut shop, Tyson could just go in because he’s a monster, but it could be a nest.” The Doctor explained in a hushed voice.

“A nest of what?” Percy inquired.

“Haven’t you ever wondered how franchise stores pop up so fast?” Annabeth asked in frustration, “One day there’s nothing and then the next day – _ boom,  _ there’s a new burger place or a coffee shop or whatever? First a single store, then two, then four – exact replicas spreading across the country?”

“Um, no. Never thought about it.” Percy said.

“Percy, some of the chains multiply so fast because all their locations are magically linked to the life force of a monster. Some children of Hermes figured out how to do it back in the 1950s. They breed –”

Annabeth froze.

“What?” Percy demanded. “They breed what?”

“No – sudden – moves.” Annabeth said. “Very slowly, turn around.” 

Slowly, the Doctor turned only to see a massive Hydra. It was hissing, its front half writing in all different directions. Each head was diamond-shaped, but the mouths were lined with jagged rows of teeth. Its skin was leathery, and under each neck, it wore a plastic bib that read: I’M A MONSTER DONUT KID!

Percy took out his ballpoint pen, but both the Doctor and Annabeth shot him a look. Not yet. Some monsters had terrible eyesight and it was possible that the Hydra may just pass them by. But the bronze glow of Percy’s sword would definitely attract it.

They waited.

The Hydra was only a few feet away, sniffing the ground and the trees as though it were hunting for something. It was then that the Doctor realized that two of the heads were ripping apart a piece of yellow canvas – one of their duffel bags. It had already been to their campsite. It was following their scent.

Tyson was trembling. He stepped back, accidently snapping a twig, and immediately, all seven heads of the Hydra turned towards the noise and hissed.

“Run!” The Doctor yelled, Annabeth dove right, dragging Percy with her. The Doctor rolled left. One of the Hydra’s head spat an arc of green venom that shot past the Doctor’s shoulder, splashing against an elm. The trunk smoked and began to disintegrate. The entire tree toppled straight towards Tyson, who still hadn’t moved, petrified in fear.

“Tyson!” It was Percy who ran out to him, tackling him aside just as the Hydra lunged and the tree crashed on top of two of its heads.

The Hydra stumbled backwards, yanking its heads free, then wailing in outrage at the fallen tree. All seven heads shot venom, and the elm melted into a pool of acid.

“Run!” The Doctor said again, running to Tyson’s side to assist Percy, who had run away from the Cyclops and towards the Hydra, uncapping his sword. The sight of celestial bronze caused the Hydra to whip towards it with all its heads, hissing and baring its teeth. One of the heads snapped at Percy experimentally, and without thinking, the boy swung his sword!

“No!” The Doctor and Annabeth yelled, but it was much too late. Percy had sliced the Hydra’s head clean off, sending it rolling away into the grass. The Hydra’s flailing stump barley bled, swelling up, and in a matter of moments, the wounded neck split into two, each of which grew another full-sized head. The monster now had eight heads.

“Percy!” Annabeth scolded. “You just opened another Monster Donut shop somewhere!”

Percy dodged another spray of venom. “I’m about to die and you’re worried about  _ that?  _ How do we kill it?”

“We have to cauterize each wound as we decapitate them!” The Doctor shouted.

“We don’t have fire, though!” Annabeth shouted. The four of them were backing up towards the river, the Hydra following. 

They continued to inch backwards, the Doctor could feel himself panicking. He needed a plan now. They were running out of time. 

Behind them, there was the sound of a steam engine. Then, from the river behind them, a female voice shouted: “There! Prepare the thirty-two-pounder!”

“They’re too close, m’lady!” A gravelly male voice said.

“Damn the heroes!” The girl said. “Full steam ahead!”

“Aye, m’lady.”

“Fire at will, Captain!”

“Get down!” The Doctor suddenly yelled, and he, Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson hit the ground just as a massive  _ BOOM  _ echoed from the river. There was a flash of light, a column of smoke, and the Hydra exploded right before them, showering them with green slime that vaporized the moment it hit.

“Gross!” Annabeth screamed.

“Steamship!” Tyson yelled.

The Doctor stood, and turned, only to see a massive ship coming towards them. It rode low in the water, it’s deck was plated with iron, and in the middle was a trapezoid-shaped castmate with slats on each side for cannons. A flag waved from the top, it had a wild boar and a spear on a bloodred field. The flag of Ares. On the deck were undead soldiers with shimmering faces that only partially covered their skulls. Along the prow of the ship, were the moss-covered letters:  _ CSS Birmingham. _

Standing next to the smoking canon, wearing full Greek battle armor, was Clarisse.

“Losers.” She sneered. “But I suppose I have to rescue you. Come aboard.”


	11. The CSS Birmingham

“You are in  _ so  _ much trouble.” Clarisse said as the Doctor, Annabeth, Percy, and Tyson finished their unwanted tour of the ship. It was full of dark rooms that were overcrowded with undead soldiers. They had seen the coal bunker, boilers, engine, pilothouse, powder magazine, as well as the gunnery dck, which was Clarisse’s favorite, containing massive cannons, all specially refitted to fire celestial bronze cannon balls.

The undead Confederate soldiers stared at the four the entire time, their ghostly bearded faces shimmering over their skulls. They approved of Annabeth, seemingly because she told them she was from Virginia. They were interested in Percy as well, as his name was Jackson, like the Southern general, but he ruined it by telling them he was from New York, causing them to hiss and mutter curses about Yankees. They seemed to have a distaste for the Doctor, muttering insults about the British. Tyson was terrified of them, and all throughout the tour, he insisted that Annabeth held his hand, which she didn’t seem particularly thrilled about.

Finally, they were escorted to dinner. The  _ CSS Birmingham  _ captain’s quarters were bigger than any other room on board. The table was set with white linen and china, peanut butter and jam sandwiches (how very American), crisps, as well as Dr Peppers were served by skeletal crewmen. The Doctor began to nibble on a bag of crisps as Percy and Annabeth chowed down. Tyson lingered in the back, not eating anything.

“Tantalus expelled you for eternity,” Clarisse said smugly. “Mr. D said if any of you show your face at camp again, he’ll turn you into squirrels and run you over with his SUV.”

“Lovely.” The Doctor murmured sarcastically.

“Did  _ they  _ give you this ship?” Percy asked.

“‘Course not. My father did.”

_ “Ares?”  _ Percy stared.

Clarisse sneered. “You think your daddy is the only one with sea power? The spirits on the losing side of every war owe a tribute to Ares. That’s their curse for being defeated. I prayed to my father for a naval transport and here it is. These guys will do anything I tell them. Won’t you, Captain?”

The captain stood behind her looking stiff and angry. His glowing green eyes fixed on the groups with a hungry stare. “If it means an end to this infernal war, ma’am, peace at last, we’ll do anything. Destroy anyone.”

Clarisse smiled. “Destroy anyone. I like that.”

The Doctor glared. 

“Clarisse,” Annabeth said before the Doctor could say anything, “Luke might be after the Fleece, too. We saw him. He’s got the coordinates and he’s heading south. He has a cruise ship full of monsters –”

“Good! I’ll blow him out of the water.”

“You don’t understand,” Annabeth said. “We have to combine forces. Let us help you –”

“No!” Clarisse pounded the table. “This is  _ my  _ quest, smart girl! Finally  _ I  _ get to be the hero, and you three will  _ not  _ steal my chance.”

“And where are your cabin mates, Clarisse?” The Doctor asked. “You were allowed to take two others, weren’t you?”

“They didn’t… I let them stay behind. To protect the camp.” Clarisse said defensively.

“They didn’t want to help you, did they?” The Doctor taunted.

“Shut up!” Clarisse snapped.

“Tantalus is using you,” The Doctor said, “He doesn’t care about the camp. He’d love to see it destroyed. He’s setting you up to fail.”

“No! I don’t care what the Oracle –” She stopped herself.

“What is it?” The Doctor inquired, “What did the Oracle tell you?”

“Nothing.” Clarisse turned pink, “All you need to know is that I’m finishing this quest and you’re  _ not  _ helping. On the other hand, I can’t let you go…”

“So we’re prisoners?” Annabeth asked.

“Guests. For now.” Clarisse propped her feet up on the white linen tablecloth and opened another Dr Pepper. “Captain, take them below. Assign them hammocks on the berth deck. If they don’t mind their manners, show them how we deal with enemy spies.”

As the night immersed them, Percy began to mumble in his sleep, the Doctor placed two gentile fingers on his temples and was pulled into the dream. 

Grover was sitting at his loom, desperately unraveling his wedding train, when the boulder door rolled aside and Polyphemus bellowed, “Aha!” causing the satyr to yelp.

“Dear! I didn’t – you were so quiet!”

“Unraveling!” Polyphemus roared. “So that’s the problem!”

“Oh, no. I – I wasn’t –”

“Come!” Polyphemus grabbed Grover around the waist and half carried, half dragged him through the tunnels of the cave. Grover struggled to keep his high heels on his hooves, and his veil kept tilting precariously on his head.

The Cyclops pulled him into a warehouse-sized cavern, decorated with sheep. There was a wool-covered recliner chair and telly, as well as bookshelves covered in sheep collectibles – coffee mugs shaped like sheep heads, plaster figurines of sheep, sheep board games, picture books, and action figures. The floor was littered with piles of sheep bones, and other bones, bones of the satyrs who had come to the island in search of Pan.

Polyphemus set Grover down, only long enough to move another massive boulder. Daylight streamed through, illuminating the cave. Grover whimpered with longing at the fresh air before being dragged outside to a hilltop, overlooking a lovely island shaped like a saddle that had been cut in half. There were lush green hills on either side, and a wide valley betwixt them, split by a deep chasm, spanned by a rope bridge. Beautiful streams rolled to the edge of the canyon and dropped off in rainbow-coloured waterfalls. Parrots fluttered in the tree, and pink and purple flowers bloomed on the bushes. Hundreds of sheep grazed in the meadows, their wool glinting in the sun.

In the center of the island, right beside the rope bridge, was a massive, twisted oak tree with something glittering in its lowest bough.

The Golden Fleece.

Even with the dream, the Doctor could feel its power, radiating across the island, making the grass greener, the flowers more beautiful, drawing the Doctor in, he could feel the magic at work, feel the power within.

Grover whimpered.

“Yes,” Polyphemus said proudly. “See over there? Fleece is the prize of my collection! Stole it from heroes long ago, and ever since – free food! Satyrs come from all over the world, like moths to flame. Satyrs good eating! And now –”

Polyphemus scooped a set of bronze shears. Grover yelped, but the Cyclops simply picked up the nearest sheep and sheared it smoothly. He handed a fluffy mass of it to Grover.

“Put that on the spinning wheel!” He said proudly. “Magic. Cannot be unraveled.”

“Oh…well…”

“Poor Honeypie!” Polyphemus grinned. “Bad weaver. Haha! Not to worry. That thread will solve problem. Finish wedding train by tomorrow!”

“Isn’t that… thoughtful of you!”

“Hehe.”

“But – but, dear,” Grover gulped, “What if someone were to rescue – I mean, attack this island?” Grover looked straight to Percy and the Doctor. “What would keep them from marching right up here to your cave?”

“Wifey scared! So cute! Not to worry. Polyphemus has state-of-the-art security system. Have to get through my pets.”

“Pets?” Grover looked across the island, but there was nothing to see apart from sheep grazing peacefully in the meadows.

“And then,” Polyphemus growled, “They would have to get through me!” He pounded his fist against the nearest rock, cracking it until it split. “Now, come!” He shouted. “Back to the cave.”

Grover looked about ready to cry, so close to freedom, yet so very far away. Tears welled in his eyes as the boulder door rolled shut, sealing him once again in the darkness of the cave.

The Doctor was pulled from Percy’s dreams by alarm bells ringing throughout the ship.

“All hands on deck!” The captain’s voice called. “Find Lady Clarisse! Where is that girl?”

“Get up, scum.” The captain’s ghostly face appeared above the boys. “Your friends are already above. We are approaching the entrance.”

“The entrance to what?” Percy asked. The Doctor grinned.

“The sea of monsters.”

The Doctor and Percy were making their way upstairs, when something made them freeze. He could feel the godly energy radiating, the deep anger within him that was forcing itself through made it obvious enough who it was.

Instead of going up, the Doctor signaled for Percy to follow, as he crept to the edge of the ventilation grate and peered down into the boiler deck. Clarisse was standing right below them, talking to an image that shimmered in the steam from the boilers.

“I don’t want your excuses, little girl!” Ares growled.

“Y-yes, father.” Clarisse mumbled.

“You don’t want to see me mad, do you?”

“No, father.”

_ “No, father,”  _ Ares mimicked. “You’re pathetic. I should’ve let one of my  _ sons  _ take this quest.”

“I’ll succeed!” Clarisse promised, her voice trembling. “I’ll make you proud.”

“You’d better,” Her father warned, “You asked me for this quest, girl. If you let that slimeball Jackson kid steal it from you –”

“But the Oracle said –”

“I DON’T CARE WHAT IT SAID!” Ares bellowed with such force that his image shimmered. “You  _ will  _ succeed. And if you don’t…” He raised his fist. Even though he was only a figure in the steam, Clarisse flinched. “Do we understand each other?”

The alarm bells rang again and voices came towards them, officers yelling orders to ready the cannons. The Doctor and Percy crept back from the ventilation grate and back upstairs to join Annabeth and Tyson on the spar deck.

Just as the Doctor and Percy made it up the stairs, Clarisse followed. She grabbed a pair of binoculars from an officer and peered towards the horizon. “At last. Captain, full steam ahead!”

The Doctor looked in the direction that Clarisse was. The sky was overcast, the air hazy and humid, but he could see islands in the distance. The engine groaned as the ship increased speed. Tyson muttered nervously.

“Too much strain on the pistons. Not meant for deep water.”

After a few more minutes, the islands in the distance became more defined; to the north, a massive mass of rock rose from the sea. It was an island with cliffs a hundred feet in height. South of that, the Doctor could see a storm brewing, but not just a normal storm, but a massive whirlpool. The colour drained from the Time-Lord’s face.

“Hurricane?” Annabeth asked.

“Charybdis.” The Doctor breathed.

Annabeth paled. “No. Are you serious?”

“Deadly.”

“Only way into the Sea of Monsters.” Clarisse said. “Straight between Charybdis and her sister Scylla.” She pointed towards the top of the cliffs.

“We have to be careful.” The Doctor said clearly. “They are so close together, if we get even slightly off course –”

“I know.” Clarisse said aggressively.

“Can’t we use the Clashing Rocks?” Annabeth asked. “That’s another gateway. Jason used it.”

“I can’t blow apart rocks with my cannons.” Clarisse said. “Monsters, on the other hand…”

“You don’t understand,” The Doctor said, “I’ve seen her before, she will tear this ship to pieces.”

“Look, I got this.” Clarisse dismissed him. 

“I really don’t think you do.”

“Set course for Charybdis!” Clarisse commanded the captain. 

“Aye, m’lady.” The captain said. The engine groaned, the iron plating rattled, and the ship began to pick up speed. The deck began to warm beneath their feet as the smokestacks billowed, and the red Ares flag whipped in the wind.

As they got closer to the monsters, the sound of Charybdis got louder and louder, sending a massive wet roar echoing across the water. As Charybdis inhaled, the ship shuddered forth, and every time she exhaled, they rose in the water and were buffeted by massive waves.

The undead sailors calmly went about their business on the spar deck. Annabeth stood beside the Doctor and Percy, gripping the rail. “You still have your thermos full of wind?”

Percy nodded, but the Doctor cut in, “It’s too dangerous. The wind’ll just make things worse in a whirlpool like that.”

“What about controlling the water?” Annabeth suggested.

“Well, that’ll never work.” The Doctor scoffed.

“Why not?” Annabeth asked, “He’s done it before.”

“But Charybdis isn’t just water, is she.” The Doctor said as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. “She’s alive, your half-sister, Percy.”

_ “What?” _

“Daughter of Gaea and Poseidon,” The Doctor explained, “She was born a nymph, charged with the task of flooding dry land in Poseidon’s name. She was the one in charge of the tides.”

“Was?”

“She went a bit, well, a bit overzealous with the flooding. Zeus got mad, trapped her and transformed her.” He gestured out to where Charybdis now stood.

“Well, what are we going to do, then?” Annabeth asked. 

“I could try and talk to her…”

“The last thing we need is to advertise our presence.” Clarisse growled.

“Engine is no good.” Tyson said, listening to the sound of the ship. 

“You’re right.” The Doctor agreed. “The pistons need fixing, there’s too much pressure.”

There was a mighty roar of ocean and the ship lurched forth and the Doctor was very nearly thrown to the deck (which was saying something, as he was acclimated to the lurches and jolts of the TARDIS). 

“Full reverse!” Clarisse screamed above the crashing of the waves. The sea churned around them, waves crashing over the deck. The iron plating was now so hot it was steaming. “Get us within firing range! Make ready starboard cannons!”

Undead confederates rushed back and forth, the propeller grinded into reverse, attempting to slow the ship, but they kept sliding towards the center. One sailor burst forth from the hold and ran to Clarisse. His gray uniform was smoking, his beard was on fire. “Boiler room overheating, ma’am! She’s going to blow!”

“Well, get down there and fix it!” Clarisse commanded.

“Can’t!” The sailor yelled. “We’re vaporizing in the heat.”

Clarisse pounded the side of the casemate. “All I need is a few more minutes! Just enough to get in range!”

“We’re going in too fast,” The captain said grimly, “Prepare yourself for death.”

“Right, then.” The Doctor said, “I’ll go fix it.”

“No! Doctor, you’ll –”

“Be fine.” The Doctor cut Annabeth off. “Not human, remember?”

“I’ll go.” Tyson said bravely.

“Nope,” The Doctor said, popping the ‘p’, “Too dangerous. Don’t worry, be back in a tick.”

“Doctor!” Percy protested, but the Doctor was already sprinting down to the boiler room.

The heat climbed as the Doctor made his way deeper within the ship, he held his sonic at the ready, but despite his resistance to the heat, it was beginning to get to him. It wasn’t so much the heat that bothered him, but the humidity. It was something that his lungs had never properly gotten used to, despite his years of travel. Steam began to obscure his vision, he could feel sweat developing, but he kept moving. He was so close. He could hear the cannons firing above, feel the crashing of the waves. 

The Doctor found himself face to face with a massive engine, it was overheating, he tried the sonic, but it was no use. He sprinted to a curved set of levers along with a metal pulley system made of rusting chains. He began to pull, slowly opening the side of the iron-plated walls to reveal the pistons.

The sonic did most of the work, but he could feel the ship lurching, sending him crashing into the walls. Finally, the vibrations in the deck changed as the pistons began to move properly. The hum of the engine got stronger and steadier, and the ship shuddered as it began to pull away to safely.

The Doctor made his way towards the exit, but suddenly, everything around him exploded. His head collided painfully with a metal-plated support, and he knew nothing more.


	12. The Island of Circe

The Doctor opened his eyes. He was in a rowboat with a makeshift sail stitched of gray uniform fabric. 

“Doc!”

“Don’ call me Doc.” The Doctor muttered. Above him, sat Annabeth and Percy. He furrowed his eyebrows. “Where’s Tyson?”

“Oh, Doctor, I’m sorry.” Annabeth whispered. “When the ship exploded, we found you floating at the top of the water… Tyson, he’d followed you down…”

The Doctor sat up, Annabeth grabbed his shoulder to push him back down. “Please, Doctor, you need rest.” 

“I’m fine, I'm fine.” The Doctor insisted. His body ached and was covered in burns and cuts from the shrapnel.

“He may have survived.” Percy said hopefully, “I mean, fire can’t kill him.”

The Doctor nodded, but the likelihood of his survival was not particularly encouraging. 

The waves lapped at the boat. Annabeth showed the Doctor some of the things she and Percy had managed to salvage from the wreckage – Hermes’s thermos (though it was empty), a Ziploc bag full of ambrosia, a couple of sailors’ shirts, and a bottle of Dr Pepper. She and Percy had fished the Doctor out of the water and found Percy’s rucksack, bitten in half by the teeth of Scylla. Most of his stuff had floated away, but they still had Hermes’s bottle of multivitamins, and, of course, Riptide, who always appeared back in Percy’s pocket.

They continued to sail for hours, the water glittering brilliantly green. The wind was fresh and salty, but carried with it a metallic scent. No matter which way they turned, the sun shone in their eyes. Despite Annabeth’s protests, the Doctor offered up his trenchcoat to shade the two half-bloods whilst they took turns sipping the Dr Pepper. 

The two boys told Annabeth about Percy’s latest dream. The Doctor estimated that they had less than twenty four hours to save Grover, depending on when Polyphemus got impatient enough. 

“Yeah,” Percy said bitterly. “You can never trust a Cyclops.”

Annabeth stared across the water. “I’m sorry, I was wrong about Tyson, okay? I wish I could tell him that.”

“Annabeth,” Percy finally said, “Chiron’s prophecy, what was it?”

She pursed her lips. “I shouldn’t –”

“I know Chiron promised the gods he wouldn’t tell me. But _you_ didn’t promise, did you?”

“How about you just tell me, Annabeth?” The Doctor suggested, “That keeps you out of it, and we can determine what to do together.”

Annabeth hesitated. “But how can I without…” She glanced at Percy.

“I can go into your head –”

“No.”

“Annabeth, listen, I won’t look at anything you don’t want me to –”

“Why can’t I go into your head?”

“What?”

“Percy told me how it works, you’re a touch-telepath, you said. It can go both ways, right?”

“Annabeth, you don’t want to be in my head.” The Doctor said.

“And why not?”

“The things I’ve seen,” He explained slowly, “The things I’ve done, they’ve destroyed me. Imagine what that would do to you.”

They sailed in silence until Percy suddenly shouted, “Land! Look, there’s land nearby!”

The Doctor and Annabeth looked in the direction that Percy was pointing, and sure enough, in the distance, there was an island with a small mountain in the center, a dazzling white collection of buildings, a beach dotted with palm trees, and a harbor filled with a strange assortment of boats – pleasure yachts, a U.S. Navy submarine, several dugout canoes, a three-masted sailing ship. The current was pulling them towards it.

“Welcome!” A woman with a clipboard said as they stepped off the rowboat. She looked very formal, put together. She was wearing a blue business suit, perfect makeup, and her hair was pulled back into a neat ponytail. She shook their hands with a dazzling smile, “Is this your first time with us?”

“Yes, it is.” The Doctor said as Percy and Annabeth hesitated. “Could you tell us a little about it?”

“First – time – at – spa” She said as she wrote on her clipboard. “Of course, we’ll start with a little herbal wrap for the young lady, and a _complete_ makeover for the young gentlemen.”

“We’d prefer to stick together –” The Doctor began, but she ignored him, cutting him off.

“Right, well, I’m sure C.C. will want to speak with you personally before the luau. Come, please.”

The Doctor shrugged at the other two, before the three of them followed the woman. 

The resort was admittedly incredibly lovely. There was white marble and blue water in every direction. Terraces climbed up the side of the mountain, with swimming pools on every level, connected by waterslides, waterfalls, and underwater tubes to swim through. Fountains sprayed water into the air, forming shapes of eagles and horses.

They passed all sorts of animals – a sea turtle napped in a sack of beach towels, a leopard stretched out, asleep on the diving board. The resort guests were curiously only young women, all lounging in deck chairs, drinking fruit smoothies, or reading magazines whilst face masks on their faces and manicurists in white uniforms did their nails.

As they made their way up a staircase towards what looked to be the main building, the Doctor could hear a woman singing. Her voice drifted through the air like a lullaby. Her words were in Minoan;

_The beautiful winds of the eve_

_Light the moon in the groves of Athena_

_Her olives spark the fires of the morn_

_Deep in the groves of Athena._

_The coral of the sunrise_

_Dance with fruit_

_The golden sorcery e_ _nvelops thee_

_Listen to the tune_

_Allow the for the magic to bloom_

_Deep in the groves of Athena_

They made their way into a large room where the front wall was windows, and the back was mirrors, giving the illusion of a room without end. There was much posh-looking white furniture, and on a table in one corner was a massive wire pet cage. Sitting at a massive loom, hands weaving coloured thread back and forth with expert skill, was the woman who had been singing. The tapestry she was weaving shimmered, almost three-dimensional. For humans, that was incredibly impressive.

“It’s beautiful.” Annabeth breathed, staring at the scene. 

The woman turned, she was incredibly beautiful, but almost artificially so. She was too perfect, she had no flaws, no small unique qualities. Her hair was long and dark, braided with threads of gold, not a single one out of place. Her green eyes were piercing and analytical. She wore a silky black dress with the shadows of animals that moved in the fabric.

“You appreciate weaving, my dear?” The woman asked.

“Oh, yes, ma’am!” Annabeth said. “My mother is –”

But she stopped herself. The hostess simply smiled. “You have good taste, my dear. I’m so glad you’ve come. My name is C.C.”

Within the cage to her right, guinea pigs were now squealing. 

“Right, I’m the Doctor, and this is Annabeth and Percy,” The Doctor gestured to the two half-bloods respectively, as Annabeth seemed at a loss for words.

C.C. looked down at the Doctor and Percy in disapproval. Within his hearts, he could feel a twinge of disappointment, a desire to please her. He felt like a student in the academy all over again, looking up at a disappointed Professor.

“Oh, dear,” She sighed, looking down at the young boy, “You _do_ need my help.”

“Ma’am?” The Doctor heard himself ask.

C.C. called to the woman in the business suit. “Hylla, take Annabeth on a tour, will you? Show her what we have available. The clothing will need to change. And the hair, my goodness. We will do a full image consultation after I’ve spoken with these young gentlemen.”

“But…” Annabeth’s voice sounded hurt. “What’s wrong with my hair?”

C.C. smiled benevolently. “My dear, you are lovely. Really! But you’re not showing off yourself or your talents at all. So much wasted potential!”  
“Wasted?”

“Well, surely you’re not happy the way you are! My goodness, there’s not a single person who is. But don’t worry. We can improve anyone here at the spa. Hylla will show you what I mean. You, my dear, need to unlock your true self!”

Annabeth’s eyes glowed with longing. “But… What about Percy and the Doctor?”

“Oh, definitely,” C.C. said, “Percy will go with Medea, and the Doctor, well,” She sent the Doctor a sad look, “He requires my personal attention. They need _much_ more work than you do.”

A woman who must have been Medea walked forth from the doorway, taking Percy’s hand as Hylla took Annabeth’s, and they were led out of the room, Annabeth being led right, and Percy left. 

C.C. took the Doctor’s arm and guided him towards the mirrored wall. “You see, Doctor… to unlock your potential, you’ll need serious help. The first step is admitting that you’re not happy the way you are.”

“Yes, well, I never cared much about appearance.” The Doctor said.

“But deep down, you do.” C.C. said convincingly. “Look at yourself in the mirror.”

The Doctor looked at himself, he was young, maybe twelve or thirteen at most, with dark brown hair and pale blue-green eyes. His figure was slim, but not unhealthily so, and yes there were small imperfections here or there; his features weren’t perfectly symmetrical, his body not particularly defined, but that was not of much care to him. Back home, appearance never mattered all that much, why would it? With everyone regenerating from time to time, it simply was inconsequential and unrelated to personal self-worth.

“As much as I appreciate your generosity, C.C.,” The Doctor said, “I see nothing that needs changing.”

“Perhaps you’d like to be older, then.” C.C. flicked her hand, and the mirror changed, the Doctor was older, more toned, perfectly symmetrical. But the Time Lord simply shrugged.

“Been there, done that.”

“Whatever do you mean, child?”

“You humans – or should I say earth-dwellers – you lot are so obsessed with appearance.” The Doctor said, rolling his eyes.

C.C. walked gracefully over to him, her hand resting on his arm. “If not for yourself, how about for someone else?” She smiled hungrily, “A Rose, perhaps?”

“What?” The Doctor stared at her, “What are you –” He jolted his arm away from her touch. “Get out of my head.” His voice was cold, deadly, but failed to conceal the undertone of fear. 

“Never enough for her,” C.C. continued, “Don’t you want to be perfect for her?”

“Stop it.”

“I’m sure she’ll find another who is more beautiful than you, dear Doctor,”

“GET OUT!” The Doctor shoved the woman away. 

“I’m just trying to help you, love.” C.C. smiled, her voice soothing and kind. “You could be everything she ever wanted.”

“But it doesn’t matter.” The Doctor spat. “Because she’s gone. I can never see her again, as much as I want to, as much as I try, I will _never_ see her again.” He took a deep breath, pushing his emotions back. “But you,” his voice was deadly. _“You_ should not have said that name. You should not have tried to use her against me. You think she’s my weakness? You are wrong. She is the only reason I keep fighting.” The Doctor stepped forwards, closing the distance between them, his voice dropping in volume, but rising in anger, “So you are going let my friends go.”

C.C. smiled, “Or what?”

The Doctor grabbed her wrist, forcing images into her head: The destruction of planets, the extinction of species, the fear, the terror, the pain, all at his hand.

He withdrew.

C.C. stood against the wall, her mind barely able to cope. She hurried off, giving a short bow as she left.

Annabeth was walked back in by Hylla, she had been given a complete makeover. Her blonde hair was newly washed and combed, braided with gold. She wore a sleeveless silk dress, much like C.C.’s, but white. On her face was makeup, something the Doctor had never expected her to be caught dead in.

It was another couple minutes before Percy came in, he stumbled in, looking disheveled. He pointed accusatory Medea, who had entered with C.C. “She, she turned me into a guinea pig!” He gasped out.

“You’re Circe!” Annabeth suddenly breathed, but the Doctor held up a hand to indicate that he had it handled. He looked to Percy, snatching the bottle of multivitamins from his pocket, dumping them into the guinea pig page. 

“No, you can’t, they’re –” But the Doctor shot her a furious look, and Circe fell silent. The guinea pigs scuttled out to try the new food, gnawing on the vitamins. 

With a loud _bang,_ The cage exploded, and on the floor were six men, all looking disoriented, blinking and shaking wood shavings from their hair. 

One of the men stood up. He was a large man with a long, tangled black beard, and teeth the same colour. His clothes were mismatched and made of wool and leather. His boots were knee-length and on his head was a floppy felt hat. The other men were dressed more simply in breeches and strained white shirts. All of them were barefoot. 

“Argggh!” bellowed the large man. “What’s the witch done t’me?”

“No!” Circe moaned.

Annabeth gasped. “I recognize you! Edward Teach, son of Ares?”

“Aye, lass,” The man growled. “Though most call me Blackbeard! And there’s the sorceress what captured us, lads. Run her through, and then I mean to find me a big bowl of celery! Argggh!” 

Circe screamed, and the Doctor did nothing as she and her attendants ran from the room, chased by the pirates.

“Right, we need to leave.” The Doctor said.

“Yeah,” Percy agreed, “Um, Doctor, why weren’t you turned into a guinea pig?”

“And how did you get her to let us go?” Annabeth asked.

“Later.” The Doctor said, his voice still cold, and neither Percy nor Annabeth dared argue.

They made their way down the hillside through the terraces and past the screaming spa workers as the pirates ransacked the resort. Blackbeard’s men broke the tiki torches for the luau, threw herbal wraps into the swimming pool, and kicked over tables of sauna towels.

Neither half-blood argued as the Doctor picked out a ship. It was an old sailing vessel, as the Doctor knew that would be best for Percy’s set of skills. It was a three-mast ship, and painted on the side was _Queen Anne’s Revenge._

“Argggh!” Blackbeard yelled somewhere behind them. “Those scalaways are a-boarding me vessel! Get ‘em, lads!”

“We’ll never get going in time!” Annabeth yelled as they climbed aboard.

The Doctor, unfazed, lifted the sonic, indicating for Annabeth and Percy to cover their ears. The shrill cry of the Sonic caused the pirates to cry out, clamping their hands over their ears as Annabeth and Percy got the ship going. 

The _Queen Anne’s Revenge_ lurched away from the dock, and by the time the pirates arrived at the water’s edge, they were already underway, sailing into the Sea of Monsters.


	13. The Song of the Sirens

The Doctor watched as Percy masterfully hoisted the ropes and raised the sails. It was instinctual to him. They plowed through the waves at ten knots, incredibly fast for a sailing ship, and sailed through the night.

Annabeth insisted that she help keep lookout, but sailing didn’t agree with her, and after a few hours of rocking back and forth, she elected to go below and lie in a hammock to tame her nauseous stomach.

The Doctor watched the horizon, not wanting to look at Percy, who was sailing as though he’d spent his life on this ship. He knew Percy and Annabeth wanted to know what happened, but a part of him didn’t want to tell them. They knew a part of his past, but the things he had done… Even just the things he had shown Circe… They couldn’t know that. And so he watched the monsters of the sea swim past, reptilian sea monsters and Nereids alike. He instructed Percy to steer clear of a massive smoking volcano to their right.

“One of the forges of Hephaestus.” He explained. 

And soon, like everything else, it was a red patch of haze behind them.

Eventually, Percy went below deck to get some rest, and Annabeth came up. Silently, she sat beside the Doctor, looking at the stars above.

“Do you really know every one?” Annabeth asked, staring at the sky, “It’s just – Grover, he told me…”

“Yes.” The Doctor said after a long pause. “Every star.”

“Doctor! Annabeth!” Percy came sprinting up from below deck. 

The Doctor was immediately on his feet, “What is it? What happened?”

“I had another dream, I was on the _Princess Andromeda,”_ Percy said quickly, “And there were these shadows, I think they were the spirits of the dead again, and they were talking to me. Stuff like, ‘Beware traps and trickery,’ and then the sarcophagus, it was glowing, and I think Kronos was talking to me. He said I don’t have the courage to stop him. And Thalia, she was there, she had chains on her wrists, and asked me if we were going to stop him or not.” Percy took a breath, “And she tapped on the chains, and they turned into a shield, and she got near to the coffin and took off the lid, and it started to glow, and Kronos was laughing, and the light, it just like, engulfed her.”

“What did the shield look like?” Annabeth demanded. 

“Uh, It was silver and bronze, I think.” Percy said, attempting to recall the dream, “Medusa’s face was on it, like, it looked real.”

“Aegis.” Annabeth breathed. “That was Thalia’s shield…”

“Annabeth,” The Doctor said suddenly, “Look,” He pointed to a dark spot in the mist, an island. “That’s the island of the Sirens, we’ll be in range of their singing soon.”

“No problem.” Percy said, “We can just stop up our ears. There’s a big tub of candle wax below deck –”

“I want to hear them.” Annabeth suddenly said.

“Why?” The Doctor narrowed his eyes at the girl. 

“They say the Sirens sing the truth about what you desire. They tell you things about yourself you didn’t even realize. That’s what’s so enchanting. If you survive… you become wiser. I want to hear them. How often will I get that chance?”

“No,” The Doctor said, “Annabeth, you are too human for this. I’ll listen, then relay what I hear to you after.”

“Doctor –” Annabeth said, but the Doctor cut her off.

“Annabeth, if there’s anyone here who can resist it, it’s me.”

“Fine.” Annabeth grumbled, “Percy, go get the wax. I’ll tie up the Doctor so he doesn’t get himself killed.”

The Doctor nodded sharply, standing against the foremast as Annabeth tied him up.

“Don’t untie me,” The Doctor said as Percy emerged with the wax, “No matter how much I beg or plead, no matter what I say.”

“I know.” Annabeth said, pulling the ropes as tight as they would go. She and Percy then applied the wax to their ears, and waited to get in range of the Sirens.

They watched as the island approached, the jagged rocks looming out of the fog. 

The Doctor closed his eyes, but when they opened again, he could see the island so clearly, but it wasn’t the island. It was a golden field covered in Ulanda trees, the leaves were silver, and the fruit was fresh. There were snow-capped mountains – Mt. Cadon covered in Weanskrike, Trustirt, Sarlain flowers, Mt. Perdition carpeted with red grass, complementing the sky that grew more orange as the night arrived. 

“Theta!” Koschei called from the field, just across from Lake Abydos, he had a face the Doctor hadn’t yet met, but he still was very much the Koschei he once knew, “Come on!”

“Koschei!” Theta called, “What’s going on?”

“You finally got to the top of Mt. Cadon, remember?” Koschei said, grinning, “So they tied you up until the hallucinations wear off. You just have to tell them to let you out now!”

“Oh, right!” The memory of Theta’s attempt renewed in his mind, of course, that’s what had happened. “Wait, but Perseus…”

Koschei laughed, “Don’t tell me you were hallucinating about old Earth myths again. Come on, Rose is waiting for you!”

“What? Rose?” Theta breathed.

“Yeah, your wife, remember?” Koschei grinned, “The one you saved from the other dimension after saving Gallifrey? Honestly, are you sure you’re all right today?”

“Yeah, brilliant.” Theta’s grin matched Koschei’s.

“Theta!” The most beautiful voice called from inside a quaint little house. Out stepped Rose, his beautiful Rose, on her hip was a small boy Theta identified as his son, “Come on, I’ve just finished dinner.”

Theta looked at the Hallucinations of Annabeth and Perseus, “Let me go.” He demanded.

The two shook their heads.

 _“Let me go.”_ Theta growled angrily, his eyes flashing in anger. “I know you’re not real, so let me out.”

They shook their heads again, averting their eyes.

“Fine.” He growled. “I’ll do it myself.” 

Skillfully, Theta began to unravel the rope. Annabeth got close, tightening it. Perfect. From her pocket, Theta slid out her bronze knife. He easily sliced through the ropes.

He could hear the shouts of protest from the hallucinations, but he didn’t care. He needed to get home.

Jumping into Lake Abydos, Theta began to swim to his family, he heard two splashes from behind him, but he kept on. 

After moving forth a number of paces, a hand suddenly grabbed his ankle. 

“Come on, Theta!” Koschei called encouragingly.

“Please come home!” Rose pleaded as their son cried. 

The Doctor attempted to kick the hand away from his ankle as he was dragged into the water. The moment they went under, the image faded, where was he? Why were Percy and Annabeth here? But his head broke the surface, and he could see his family, calling for him.

“Please, Theta!” They called, “We need you!”

Hands grabbed around Theta’s waist, and he shot into the depths of the water. Confusion wrapped around him, he couldn’t differentiate what was real and what was fake.

The hallucination(?) of Percy summoned a massive bubble that wrapped around himself, the Doctor, and Annabeth so that only their legs stuck into the water. 

The song of the Sirens was gone. The spell was broken. The Doctor broke. A sob escaped his throat as tears rolled messily down his face. 

“I’ll get us back to the ship.” Percy said awkwardly.

“It’ll be okay, Doc.” Annabeth said quietly.

Percy made the current steer the bubble through the rocks and barbed wire and back towards the hull of _Queen Anne’s Revenge,_ which was maintaining a slow and steady course away from the island. 

They stayed underwater, following the ship, until they were far out of the earshot of the Sirens. When they surfaced, the air bubble popped, and they climbed up the rope ladder that Percy had released.

The Doctor sat on the forward deck, mouthing that it was safe for them to remove their earplugs. Annabeth and Percy took them out.

“You okay?” Percy asked awkwardly.

“Fine.”

“No you’re not.” Annabeth murmured.

“No.” The Doctor sighed. “I’m sorry, I – I was wrong. I thought I would be able to resist it.”

“Theta,” Annabeth said suddenly. The Doctor flinched at the name, “Is that your real name?”

“No.” The Doctor said, “It was just a nickname.”

“What’s your real name then?” Annabeth asked.

“And who’s Koshi?” Percy added.

“Koschi.” The Doctor corrected. “He was – well, he was a lot of things…” A faint smile danced upon his lips.

“And Rose?”

The Doctor didn’t respond, instead staring into the deep ocean. He drew in a breath as he saw an uncomfortably familiar island ahead of them: Ahead of them was a saddle-shaped island with forested hills, white beaches, and green meadows, just as it had been in Percy’s dreams.

“We’re here.” The Doctor breathed. “The island of the Cyclops.”


	14. Polyphemus's Island

The island was not exactly what the Doctor had expected. It had a rope bridge across a chasm, but apart from that, it was positively lovely. The fields were green and all sorts of palm trees covered the white beaches. As they sailed towards the shore, the Doctor could feel the power of the Fleece getting nearer and nearer.

“If we take the Fleece away, will the island die?” Percy suddenly asked.

Annabeth shook her head. “It’ll fade. Go back to what it would be normally, whatever that is.”

In the meadow at the base of the ravine, several dozen sheep were milling around. They looked peaceful, but they were massive, maybe sixteen times larger than a traditional Earth sheep. Just past them was a path that led up into the hills, at the top of which, near the edge of the canyon, was the massive oak tree from Percy’s dreams. In the branches, a beautiful golden fabric lay.

“This is too easy.” Percy said. “We could just hike up there and take it?”

Annabeth’s eyes narrowed. “There’s supposed to be a guardian. A dragon or…”

That was when a deer emerged from the bushes, trotting into the meadow. All the sheep bleated at once and rushed to the animal. It happened so fast that the deer stumbled and was lost in a sea of wool and trampling hooves. Grass and tufts of fur flew into the air, and seconds later, they all moved away, back to their regular peaceful wanderings. Where the deer once stood, was now a pile of clean white bones.

“Well, that’s not particularly good.” The Doctor said.

“Look!” Annabeth gasped, pointing. The Doctor followed her gaze down the beach, just below the sheep meadow, to where a small boat had been run aground. It was the other lifeboat from the  _ CSS Birmingham. _

Annabeth wanted to sneak up the path invisibly and grab the Fleece, but in the end, the Doctor and Percy managed to convince her not to do that. Instead, they moored the  _ Queen Anne’s Revenge  _ on the back side of the island where the cliff rose straight up a few hundred feet, so the ship wouldn’t be spotted. The cliffs themselves looked climbable, so they rowed their lifeboat to the edge of the rocks and made their way up. The Doctor went first, as he was the best climber, then came Annabeth, and Percy went last. 

Finally, the Doctor pulled himself over the clifftop, assisting Annabeth and Percy to the top. 

“Ugh,” Percy said, collapsing onto his back.

“Ouch,” Annabeth moaned, falling next to him. 

“Garrr!” A voice bellowed.

The Doctor jumped, whirling around. The ledge they had been sitting on was narrower than they’d realized. It dropped off on the opposite side, and that’s where the voice was coming from. It was right below them. 

“You’re a feisty one!” the deep voice bellowed.

“Challenge me!” Clarisse’s voice shouted. “Give me back my sword and I’ll fight you!”

The voice roared with laughter.

The Doctor, Percy, and Annabeth crept to the edge, finding themselves directly above the entrance of the Cyclops’s cave. Below them stood Polyphemus and Grover, still in his wedding dress. Clarisse was tied up, hanging upside down over a pot of boiling water. 

“Hmm,” Polyphemus pondered. “Eat loudmouth girl now or wait for wedding feast? What does my bride think?”

He turned to grover, who backed up and almost tripped over his completed bridal train. “Oh, um, I’m not hungry right now, dear. Perhaps –”

“Did you say  _ bride?”  _ Clarisse demanded. “Who – Grover?”

Next to the Doctor, Annabeth muttered, “Shut up. She has to shut up.”

Polyphemus glowered. “What ‘Grover’?”

“The satyr!” Clarisse yelled.

“Oh!” Grover yelped. “The poor thing’s brain is boiling from that hot water. Pull her down, dear!”

Polyphemus’s eyelid narrowed over his baleful milky eye, as though he was trying to see Clarisse more clearly. “What satyr? Satyrs are good eating. You bring me a satyr?”

“No, you big idiot!” Clarisse bellowed,  _ “That  _ satyr! Grover! The one in the wedding dress!”

Polyphemus turned and ripped off Grover’s wedding veil, revealing his curly hair, scruffy beard, and tiny horns. The Cyclops breathed heavily, trying to contain his rage. “I don’t see very well,” he growled. “Not since many years ago when the other hero stabbed me in eye. But YOU’RE – NO – LADY – CYCLOPS!”

Polyphemus grabbed Grover’s dress and tore it away. Underneath, the old Grover reappeared in his jeans and T-shirt. He yelped and ducked as the Cyclops swiped over his head.

“Stop!” Grover pleaded. “Don’t eat me raw! I – I have a good recipe!”

Polyphemus was hesitating, a boulder in his hand, ready to smash his would-be-bride. The Doctor had the Sonic in his hand, ready to cause a distraction, he could see Percy ready to uncap riptide.

“Recipe?” The Cyclops asked Grover.

“Oh y-yes! You don’t want to eat me raw. You’ll get E coli and botulism and all sorts of horrible things. I’ll taste much better grilled over a slow fire. With mango chutney! You could go get some mangos right now, down there in the woods. I’ll just wait here.”

Polyphemus pondered this for a moment.

“Grilled satyr with mango chutney,” Polyphemus mused. He looked back at Clarisse, still hanging over the pot of boiling water. “You a satyr, too?”

“No, you overgrown pile of dung!” She yelled. “I’m a girl! The daughter of Ares! Now untie me so I can rip your arms off!”

“Rip my arms off,” Polyphemus repeated.

“And stuff them down your throat!”

“You got spunk.”

“Let me down!”

Polyphemus snatched Grover up. “Have to graze sheep now. Wedding postponed until tonight. Then we’ll eat satyr for the main course!”

“But… you’re still getting married?” Grover sounded somewhat hurt. “Who’s the bride?”

Polyphemus looked towards the boiling pot.

Clarisse made a strangled sound. “Oh, no! You can’t be serious. I’m not –”

The Cyclops plucked her off the rope, tossing Grover deep into the cave. “Make yourself comfortable! I come back at sundown for big event!” He whistled, and a mixed flock of goats and sheep – smaller than the ones outside – flooded out of the cave and past their master.

Once the last sheep had waddled out, Polyphemus rolled a bolder in front of the doorway, shutting out the sound of Clarisse and Grover screaming inside.

“Mangos,” Polyphemus grumbled to himself. “What are mangos?”

He strolled off down the mountain in his baby-blue groom’s outfit, leaving the Doctor, Percy, and Annabeth alone with a pot of boiling water and a six-ton boulder.

“Right,” The Doctor said as Percy and Annabeth tried in vain to force the boulder to move. “We’re not going to be able to move this, so we’re going to have to trick him.”

“Like Odyssus?” Annabeth asked.

“Exactly.” The Doctor grinned.

Once the Doctor and Percy were holding on to the underbelly of the sheep, Annabeth put her cap on.

“Just don’t let go!” Annabeth encouraged, she was standing somewhere off towards the right.

The Doctor clutched the belly of Einstein, he was a lovely sheep, maybe five times the size of a typical sheep. Percy was beside him on another sheep of approximately the same size named Widget. 

The sun was going down when Polyphemus roared, “Oi! Goaties! Sheepies!”

The flock dutifully began trudging back up the slopes towards the cave.

“Hasenpfeffer!” Polyphemus said, patting the sheep in front of the Doctor, “Einstein!” The Doctor was forced to grip harder, as he was pushed down. “-– eh there, Einstein, putting on some extra mutton there?” The Cyclops laughed, “Go on, fatty! Soon Polyphemus will eat you for breakfast!” The Doctor was propelled forwards. Behind him, he could hear Polyphemus with Percy, “Widget – you too, eh? Perhaps with our feast tonight, you will be good.”

The last sheep made their way in, the Doctor listened, waiting for Annabeth’s distraction. 

Just as Polyphemus was about to roll the stone back in place, Annabeth shouted, “Hello, ugly!”

The Cyclops stiffened. “Who said that?”

“Nobody!” Annabeth yelled. The Doctor grinned. Just like Odysseus.

Just as the Doctor had expected, Polyphemus’s face turned red with rage.

“Nobody!” The Cyclops yelled back, “I remember you!”  
“You’re too stupid to remember anybody,” Annabeth taunted. “Much less Nobody.”

Polyphemus bellowed furiously, grabbing the nearest bolder (which happened to be the front door) and threw it towards the sound of Annabeth’s voice. It smashed into a thousand fragments.

For a horrible moment, there was silence. But then Annabeth shouted. “You haven’t learned to throw any better, either!”

Polyphemus howled. “Come here! Let me kill you, Nobody!”

“You can’t kill Nobody, you stupid oaf,” She taunted. “Come find me!”

The Cyclops barreled down the hill towards her voice, allowing Percy and the Doctor to drop off their sheep. 

The Doctor followed the sound of Clarisse’s voice, Percy on his heels. They made their way into the spinning room, where Grover was huddled in the corner, trying to cut Clarisse’s bonds with a pair of safety scissors.

“It’s no good,” Clarisse was staying. “This rope is like iron!”

“Just a few more minutes!”

“Grover,” she cried in exasperation, “You’ve been working at it for hours!”

"You are thick!" The Doctor shouted, making his way towards the two.

“Percy? Doctor?” Clarisse said, “You’re supposed to be blown up!”

“Good to see you, too.” Percy said, “Now, hold still while I –”

“Percy! Doctor!” Grover cried, “You heard me! You came!”

“Yeah, buddy,” Percy said, “Of course I came.”

“Where’s Annabeth?”

“Outside,” The Doctor said, “But we’ve not got time for this. Clarisse, hold still.”

Percy uncapped Riptide and sliced off her ropes. She stood stiffly, rubbing her wrists. She glared at the Doctor and Percy for a moment, then looked at the ground and mumbled, “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” Percy said. “Now, was anyone else on board your lifeboat?”

Clarisse looked surprised. “No. Just me. Everybody else aboard the  _ Birmingham… _ well, I didn’t even know you guys made it out.”

“Okay. Come on, then.” Percy said, and the Doctor could hear the hopelessness in his voice. “We have to help –”

An explosion echoed through the cave, followed by the sound of Annabeth, crying out in fear.


	15. The Great Escape

“I got Nobody!” Polyphemus gloated.

The Doctor, Percy, Clarisse, and Grover crept to the cave entrance and saw the Cyclops grinning wickedly, holding up empty air. He shook his fist, and a baseball cap fluttered to the ground. Annabeth appeared, hanging upside down by her legs.

“Hah!” The Cyclops said. “Nasty invisible girl! Already got feisty one for wife. Means you gotta be grilled with mango chutney!”

Annabeth struggled, but looked dazed. She had a nasty cut on her forehead, and her eyes were glassy and concussed.”

“I’ll rush him,” Percy whispered. “Our ship is around the back of the island, the Doctor will show you –”

“Oi!” The Doctor suddenly sprinted out towards Polyphemus.

The Cyclops whirled towards the source of the noise.  _ “Another  _ one? Who are you?”

“You are thick, aren’t you.” The Doctor laughed. “You don’t even remember me.  _ I’m  _ Nobody.”

_ “You _ are Nobody?”

_ “Yes.”  _ The Doctor rolled his eyes, “So drop my friend or I’ll stab your eye out again!”

Polyphemus bellowed in rage, dropping Annabeth. She went falling headfirst into the rocks, where she lay motionless. The Cyclops barreled towards the Doctor, but the Time Lord held his ground. 

“For Pan!” From the right, Grover came running. He threw his sheep bone, which bounced harmlessly off Polyphemus’s forehead. Clarisse ran in from the left and set her spear against the ground, just in time for the Cyclops to step on it. He wailed in pain, and Clarisse dove out of the way to avoid getting trampled. But the Cyclops just plucked out the shaft like a large splinter and kept advancing.

From behind the Doctor, Percy ran forth holding Riptide. 

Polyphemus made a grab for the Doctor, who rolled aside as Percy stabbed him in the thigh.

The Doctor sprinted over to Annabeth, he grabbed her hat from the ground and picked her up whilst Clarisse, Grover, and Percy attempted to keep Polyphemus distracted. 

The Doctor had to admit, Clarisse was brave. She charged again and again, the Cyclops pounded the ground, stomping at her, but she was too quick.

“Grover!” The Doctor suddenly yelled, snatching the knife from Annabeth’s pocket as and the satyr hurried over. “Take Annabeth across the rope bridge. I’ve got a plan.”

Grover hurried her out, and the Doctor called, “Fall back!”

Percy hurried back and Clarisse rolled away from the Cyclops’s fist as he smashed the olive tree beside her.

They ran for the bridge, Polyphemus right behind them. He was cut up and hobbling from so many wounds, but all that anyone had done was slow him down and make him angry.

“Grind you into sheep chow!” He promised, “A thousand curses on Nobody!”

“Run!” The Doctor hissed. 

They hurried across the bridge, Polyphemus right behind them. As they jumped onto solid ground, the Doctor slashed the ropes, there was a massive crash beside them. Polyphemus had jumped and made it across the bridge.

“Failed!” He yelled gleefully. “Nobody failed!”

The Doctor grinned. “I wouldn’t be so sure.”

“And why is that, Nobody?” Polyphemus grabbed at the Doctor. He let him. 

“Take a close look. You’ll know.”

The Cyclops lifted the Doctor into the air until he was mere inches from his massive eye.

The Doctor lifted Annabeth’s knife, stabbing it into Polyphemus’s eye.

The Cyclops cried out in pain, dropping the Doctor, knocking the wind from the Time Lord’s chest. 

The Doctor looked, seeing the monster sprawled on his back, dazed and groaning.

“Please, nooo!” Polyphemus moaned painfully. “M-m-my sheepies need me. Only trying to protect my sheep!” Percy was standing above the Cyclops, hesitating.

“Kill him!” Clarisse shouted, “What are you waiting for?”

Percy didn’t move.

“He’s a Cyclops!” Grover warned. “Don’t trust him!”

“We only want the Fleece,” Percy finally said. “Will you agree to let us take it?”

“No!” Clarisse shouted. “Kill him!”

Polyphemus sniffed. “My beautiful Fleece. Prize of my collection. Take it, cruel human. Take it and go in peace.”

The Doctor smiled with pride.

“I’m going to step back slowly,” Percy told the Cyclops, “One false move…”

Percy stepped back, and as fast as a cobra, Polyphemus smacked Percy to the edge of the cliff.

“Foolish mortal!” He bellowed, rising to his feet. “Take my Fleece? Ha! I eat you first!”

He opened his enormous mouth, when something wooshed over the Doctor’s head, and a rock the size of a basketball sailed into Polyphemus’s throat. He choked, trying to swallow the rock. He staggered back, but there was no place to stagger. His heel slipped, the edge of the cliff crumbled, and the great Polyphemus tumbled into the chasm.

The Doctor turned.

Halfway down the path to the beach, standing completely unharms in the midst of a flock of killer sheep, smiled a boy.

“Bad Polyphemus,” Tyson said. “Not all Cyclopes as nice as we look.”

Tyson gave them the short version of his story: Rainbow the hippocampus apparently had been following them ever since the Long Island sound, waiting for Tyson to play with him. He had found Tyson sinking beneath the wreckage of the  _ CSS Birmingham  _ and pulled him to safety. He and Tyson had been searching the Sea of Monsters ever since, trying to find the Doctor, Percy, and Annabeth, until Tyson caught the scent of sheep and found this island.

“Tyson, go get the Fleece.” The Doctor said, kneeling down beside Annabeth. The gash in her forehead was deep, her hairline was sticky with blood, and her skin was ashen and clammy. 

“Which one?” Tyson asked, looking around at the hundreds of sheep.

“The Golden Fleece,” The Doctor clarified, “In the tree.”

“Oh. Pretty. Yes.” Tyson lumbered over to the tree, careful not to step on the sheep. He reached up and lifted the Fleece from its branch. Immediately, the leaves on the oak tree turned yellow. Tyson began wading back towards the group, but Percy yelled. “No time! Throw it!”

The golden ram skin sailed through the air. Percy caught it with a grunt. It appeared heavier than he’d expected. He spread it over Annabeth, covering all but her face.

There was a horrible moment, when nothing happened.

The colour returned to her face. Her eyelids fluttered open. The cut on her forehead began to close. She saw Grover and said weakly, “You’re not… married?”

Grover grinned. “No. My friends talked me out of it.”

“Annabeth,” Percy said gently, “Just lie still.”

But despite the protests, she sat up. The cut on her face was almost completely healed, she looked a lot better, shimmering with health.

Meanwhile, Tyson was beginning to have trouble with the sheep. “Down!” He told them as they tried to climb him, looking for food. A few began sniffing in the half-bloods’ direction. “No, sheepies. This way! Come here!”

They heeded him, but it was obvious that they were hungry, and they were starting to realize Tyson didn’t have any food for them.

“Right, we have to go.” The Doctor said. “Tyson, you need to lead the flock as far away as possible. Annabeth, can you stand?”

Annabeth tried, but her face turned pale again. “Ohh.  _ Not  _ fully healed.”

The Doctor prodded her chest gentilly, causing her to gasp in pain.

“Your ribs are broken,” The Doctor said, “Mending, but broken.”

“Right, I’ll carry her.” Clarisse picked up Annabeth and carried her down to the beach. The Doctor, Grover, and Percy followed. 

“Incoming!” Tyson yelled. He was bounding down to join them, the sheep about fifty yards behind, bleating in frustration as their Cyclops ran away without feeding them.

“They won’t follow us into the water,” The Doctor said. “We just need to swim to the ship.”

“With Annabeth like this?” Clarisse protested.

“No, the Doctor’s right, we can do this.” Percy said confidently. “Once we get to the ship, we’re home free.”

They almost made it.

They were so close.

They were just wading past the entrance to the ravine, when they heard a tremendous roar and saw Polyphemus, scraped up and bruised, but still very much alive. His baby-blue wedding outfit was in tatters, splashing towards them with a massive boulder in each hand.


	16. Rainbow to the Rescue

Grover and Clarisse plunged into the surf, Annabeth clinging to Clarisse’s neck and tried to paddle with one hand, the wet Fleece weighing her down. 

But Polyphemus’s attention wasn’t on the Fleece.

“You, young Cyclops!” He roared. “Traitor to your kind!”

Tyson froze.

“Don’t listen to him!” The Doctor shouted. 

“Come on!” Percy cried, pulling Tyson’s arm.

Tyson turned and faced the older Cyclops. “I am not a traitor.”

“You serve mortals!” Polyphemus shouted. “Thieving humans!” 

“Not a traitor,” Tyson said. “And you are  _ not  _ my kind.”

“Death or victory!” Polyphemus charged into the surf, but his foot was still wounded. He immediately stumbled and fell. He started to get up again, spitting salt water and growling.

“Come on!” Clarisse yelled. They were almost to the ship with the Fleece. 

“Go,” Tyson said, “I will hold Big Ugly.”

“No! He’ll kill you!” Percy shouted, “We’ll fight him together.”

“Together, Tyson agreed.”

Percy drew his sword as the Doctor drew Annabeth’s knife.

The Cyclops advanced carefully, limping worse than ever. But he chucked a second boulder, the Doctor and Percy dove to one side. But Tyson easily blasted the rock into rubble.

“Destroy you!” Polyphemus called, “Fleece stealer!”

_ “You  _ stole the Fleece!” Percy yelled. “You’ve been using it to lure satyrs to their deaths!”

“So? Satyrs good eating!”

He ripped an olive tree out of the side of the cliff, smashing it into the ground. “Young one!” He called, “Where are you?”

Tyson hesitated.

“You weren’t raised right!” He wailed, shaking his olive tree club. “Poor orphaned brother! Help me!’

No one moved. No sound but the ocean.

“Don’t fight, Cyclops brother. Put down the –”

Polyphemus spun towards his voice. 

“Tyson!” The tree struck him with such force that it sent the Cyclops backwards, plowing a trench in the sand. Polyphemus charged after him, but Percy shouted,

“No!” He leapt, stabbing Riptide above the top of his thigh.

“Blaaaaah!” Polyphemus bleated, swinging in Percy’s direction with the tree.

Percy dove, but still got raked across the back by a dozen jagged branches. 

Polyphemus swung the tree again, but Percy was more prepared this time. He grabbed a branch as it passed and allowed the Cyclops to lift him into the air. At the top of the arc, Percy let go, falling straight against the giant’s face, landing with both feet on Polyphemus’s already damaged eye. 

The Cyclops howled in pain. Tyson tackled him, pulling him down. The Doctor hurried over and Percy landed next to them. Percy’s sword was out, Tyson looked as though he wanted to kill him. 

“Let him go.” The Doctor said softly. “He’s not worth it.”

With one last mighty effort, Tyson pushed the cursing older Cyclops away, and the three ran for the surf.

“I will smash you!” Polyphemus yelled, doubling over in pain, his massive hands cupped over his eye.

The Doctor, Tyson, and Percy plunged into the waves. Percy summoned a current to carry them, they began to gain speed.

“Yeha, Jackson! In your face, Cyclops!” Clarisse yelled from the deck.

“Rarrr!” Polyphemus picked up a boulder. He threw it towards the sound of Clarisse’s voice, but it fell short, narrowly missing the Doctor, Tyson, and Percy. 

“Yeah, yeah!” Clarisse taunted. “You throw like a wimp! Teach you to try marrying me, you idiot!”

“Will you shut it?” the Doctor shouted.

But it was too late. Polyphemus threw another boulder and this time, it crashed through the hull of the  _ Queen Anne’s Revenge. _

The ship went down. Quick.

“Dive!” Percy shouted, and as another rock sailed over their heads, they plunged underwater. 

Annabeth, Grover, and Clarisse were sinking fast, trying to swim without luck in the bubbly trail of the ship’s wreckage. 

The Doctor attempted to kick upwards, but everything was pushing him downwards.

And then, in the darkness, there were four shimmering shapes. Four horses with fish tails, galloping upwards. Rainbow and his friends.

Rainbow allowed Tyson to mount him, another one picking up Clarisse, the third picking up the Doctor and Grover, and the fourth picking up Percy and Annabeth.

Percy tenderly draped the Fleece over Annabeth, and it was only moments before the two had fallen asleep.


	17. Miami Beach Surprise

The hippocampi took the six of them near the shore. The Doctor woke Annabeth and Percy up. In the distance, the sun was setting behind a city skyline. There was a beachside highway lined with palm trees, store fronts glowing with red and blue neon, and a harbor filled with sailboats and cruise ships.

“Miami,” The Doctor identified. “But I’ve been talking to Sprinkles, here, and they’re not going to take us any further. Too many humans. Too much pollution. We’ll have to swim to shore on our own.”

Once they’d thanked Rainbow, Sprinkles, and the other hippocampi, they began their swim to shore. But the moment they crossed the boundary from the Sea of Monsters to the mortal world, the Doctor could feel the shift of time.

“We need to hurry.” He said, “We’ve been gone ten days.”

“That’s impossible!” Clarisse said. “You’re wrong. How would you even know?”

“Are you sure?” Annabeth asked, her faith completely in the Doctor’s time-sense.

“Yes.”

“Thalia’s tree must be almost dead,” Grover wailed. “We have to get the Fleece back  _ tonight.” _

Clarisse slumped down on the pavement. “How are we supposed to do that?” Her voice trembled. “We’re hundreds of miles away. No money. No ride. This is just like the Oracle said. It’s  _ your  _ fault, Jackson! If you hadn’t interfered –”

“Wait,” The Doctor said, “What did the prophecy say?”

Clarisse sighed, taking a deep breath, she recited the prophecy:

_ “You shall sail the iron ship with warriors of bone, _

_ You shall find what you seek and make it your own, _

_ But despair for your life entombed within stone _

_ And fail without friends, to fly home alone.” _

“No, wait a minute, I’ve got it!” The Doctor grinned. “Right, Clarisse, you’re going to the Airport. Annabeth, give her the Fleece.”

The two looked stunned, but Annabeth did as she was told. 

“Does anyone have any money?” The Doctor inquired. 

Percy searched his pockets, finding nothing but a single golden drachma. Annabeth, Tyson, and Grover shook their heads, and Clarisse pulled a wet Confederate dollar from her pocket, sighing.

The Doctor reluctantly handed his psychic paper to Clarisse. “Don’t lose it. Just think about whatever it is you need when you hand it over.”

“What is it?”

“Psychic paper.” The Doctor explained quickly, “Now, you’ll fly by yourself since Zeus’ll blast Percy out of the sky if he tries, so we’ll go on the ground.”

“I won’t fail.” Clarisse promised.

The Doctor smiled as she hailed a cab and got in. “See you on the other side.”

“You’re betting the lives of everybody at camp that Clarisse will get the Fleece safely back by tonight?” Annabeth asked, though it wasn’t much of a question.

“Everyone deserves a chance.” The Doctor said softly.

He turned around, only to find a sword pointed at his throat.

“Welcome back to the States.” Luke smiled.

Oreius and Agrius appeared on either side of them, one grabbing Annabeth and Grover, the other grabbing Percy and Tyson. Well, trying to. Tyson knocked him into a pile of luggage and roared at Luke.

“John,” Luke said calmly, “Tell your giant and Percy to back down or I’ll have Oreius bash your friends’ heads together.”

Oreius grinned and raised Annabeth and Grover off the ground, kicking and screaming.

“Percy, Tyson.” The Doctor said in warningly, and both boys stopped fighting. “What do you want, Luke?”

Luke smiled, gesturing towards the end of the dock, and there stood the  _ Princess Andromeda. _

“Why, I want to extend my hospitality, of course.”

Oreius and Agrius herded the five children aboard the  _ Princess Andromeda.  _ They threw them down on the aft deck in front of a swimming pool with sparkling fountains that sprayed into the air. A dozen of Luke’s assorted team had gathered to watch.

“And so, the Fleece,” Luke mused. “Where is it?”

“Oh, but why would I tell you?” The Doctor asked fearlessly.

“I’ll kill your friends.” Luke growled, “I’ll tear them apart.”

“Well, there’s no reason for that.” The Doctor said calmly. “We don’t even have it.”

“What?” Luke’s eyes narrowed.

“Well, unfortunately for you, we’re not as thick as you seem to think.” The Doctor said, “It’s long gone.”

“You’re lying.” Luke growled, “It couldn’t possibly be…” His face reddened as a horrible realization occurred to him. “Clarisse.”

The Doctor grinned.

“You trusted… you gave…”

“Yep.” He grinned, popping the ‘p’.

“Agrius!” 

The giant flinched. “Y-yes?”

“Get below and prepare my steed. Bring it to the deck. I need to fly to the Miami Airport, fast!”

“But, boss –”

“Do it!” Luke screamed. “Or I’ll feed you to the drakon!”

Agrius gulped and lumbered down the stairs. Luke paced in front of the swimming pool, cruising in Ancient Greek, gripping his sword so tightly in his knuckles that they were white.

“You’ve been toying with us all along.” Percy suddenly said. “You wanted us to bring you the Fleece and save you the trouble of getting it.”

Luke scowled. “Of course, you idiot! And you messed everything up!”

“Traitor!” Percy dug his last golden drachma out from his pocket, throwing it at Luke. As expected, he dodged it easily. The coin sailed into the spray of rainbow-coloured water.

“You tricked all of us!” Percy yelled at Luke. “Even DIONYSUS at CAMP HALF-BLOOD!”

Behind Luke, the fountain began to shimmer. The Doctor grinned, Oh, Percy, you’re brilliant.

“Oh, Luke, you’ve a lot to learn.” The Doctor said, attempting to keep his attention from the fountain.

“Like what?” Luke demanded.

“Well, you weren’t very subtle when you poisoned Thalia’s tree – it was, you, correct?”

“Of course!” Luke snarled. “I already told you that. I used elder python venom, straight from the depths of Tartarus.”

“And Chiron had nothing to do with it?” Annabeth asked, catching on.

“Ha! You know he would never do that. The old fool wouldn’t have the guts.”  
“You call it guts?” Percy cried, “Betraying your friends? Endangering the whole camp?”

Luke raised his sword. “You don’t understand the half of it. I was going to let you take the Fleece… once I was done with it.”

“Luke,” the Doctor said softly, “Luke, you still love the camp, I can tell. You don’t want to hurt people, you don’t have to do this. Leave it alone. We will still take you in. Turn back now. You don’t have to heal Kronos –”

“You don’t understand!” Luke shouted, “The Fleece’s magic will speed his healing by tenfold. You haven’t stopped us, John. You’ve only slowed us down a little.”

“And so you poisoned the tree, you betrayed Thalia, you set us up – all to help Kronos destroy the gods.” Percy said.

Luke gritted his teeth. “You know that! Why do you keep asking me?”

“Because,” The Doctor grinned, “We want to make sure the audience can hear you.”

_ “What  _ audience?”

His eyes narrowed. He looked behind him, as did his team. They gasped and stumbled back.

Above the pool, shimmering in the rainbow mist, was an Iris-message vision of Dionysus, Tantalus, and the whole camp in the dining pavilion. They sat in stunned silence, watching them.

“Well,” Dionysus said dryly. “Some unplanned dinner entertainment.”

“Mr. D, you heard him!” Percy called, “You heard Luke. The poisoning of the tree wasn’t Chiron’s fault.”

Dionysus sighed. “I suppose not.”

“The Iris-message could be a trick,” Tantalus suggested, but his attention was mostly on his cheeseburger, which he was attempting to corner with both hands.

“I fear not,” Dionysus said, looking with distaste at Tantalus. “It appears I shall have to reinstate Chiron as activities director. I suppose I do miss the old horse’s pinochle games.”

Tantalus grabbed the cheeseburger. It didn’t bolt away from him. He lifted it from the plate and stared at it in amazement. “I got it!” he cackled. 

“We are no longer in need of your services, Tantalus,” Dionysus announced.

Tantalus looked stunned. “What? But –”

“You may return to the Underworld. You are dismissed.”

“No! But – Noooooooooooo!”

As he dissolved into mist, his fingers clutched at the cheeseburger, trying to bring it to his mouth. But he was much too late. He disappeared and the cheeseburger fell back onto its plate. The campers exploded into cheering.

Luke bellowed with rage. He slashed his sword through the fountain and the Iris-message dissolved, but the deed was done.

Luke turned and gave Percy a murderous look. “Kronos was right. You’re an unreliable weapon. You need to be replaced.”

One of his men blew a brass whistle. The deck doors flew open and a dozen or more warriors poured out, making a circle around the five heroes.

Luke smirked. “None of you will leave this boat alive.”


	18. Back on the Boat

“One on one,” Percy challenged.

“Percy, no –” The Doctor tried, but Percy kept on.

“Come on, Luke. What are you afraid of?”

Luke curled his lip. The soldiers who were about to kill them all hesitated, waiting for the order.

Before he could say anything, Agrius burst onto the deck, leading a flying horse. It was a pure-black pegasus with wings like a massive raven. She bucked and whinnied, calling Argrius and Luke some foul names.

“Sir!” Agrius called, dodging a pegasus hoof. “Your steed is ready!”

Luke kept his eyes on Percy.

“I told you last summer, Percy,” he said. “You can’t bait me into a fight.”

“And you keep avoiding one,” Percy noticed. “Scared your warriors will see you get whipped?”

Luke glared at his men, and he saw Percy had trapped him. If he backed down now, he would look weak. If he fought Percy, he’d lose valuable time chasing after Clarisse. 

“I’ll kill you quickly.” He decided, raising his weapon. Luke’s sword, Backbiter, was a foot longer than Riptide, but it looked quite a bit heavier. Its blade glinted with a gray and gold light where the human steel had been melded with celestial bronze. Luke whistled to one of his men, who threw him a round bronze and leather shield. He grinned at Percy wickedly.

“Luke,” Annabeth said, “At least give him a shield.”

“Sorry, Annabeth,” he said. “You bring your own equipment to this party.”

Luke lunged and nearly killed Percy on the first try. His sword went under the boy’s arm, slashing through his shirt and grazing his ribs.

Percy jumped back, counter-attacking with Riptide, but Luke slammed his blade away with his shield.

“My, Percy,” Luke chided. “You’re out of practice.”

He came again at Percy with a swipe to the head. Percy parried, returning with a thrust, but Luke sidestepped easily.

When Luke lunged again, Percy jumped backwards into the swimming pool and spun underwater, creating a funnel cloud and blasted out of the deep end, straight at Luke’s face.

The force of the water knocked him down, spluttering and blinded, but before Percy could strike, he rolled aside and was on his feet again.

Percy attacked and sliced off the edge of his shield, but that didn’t even faze him. Luke dropped to a crouch and jabbed at Percy’s legs, striking his thigh.

Percy dropped to the ground. He tried to stand, but his leg wouldn’t take the weight.

“Percy!” The Doctor cried, but Percy rolled again as Luke’s sword slashed the deck chair in half, metal pipes and all. 

Percy clawed his way towards the swimming pool, but Luke advanced slowly, smiling. The edge of his sword was tinged with Percy’s blood. The Doctor was on his feet, but his strength was no match for Oreius, who had grabbed him. 

“One thing I want you to watch before you die, Percy.” Luke grinned, “Oreius, kill him.”

The Doctor was lifted from the ground, but perhaps this was good. He would die, yes, but he would regenerate. It would sink the ship. If he angled it right, he would take out Luke. But he would die. He didn’t want to die. He wasn’t ready to die.

Oreius bared his teeth.

Without warning, a red-feathered arrow sprouted from Oreius’s mouth. With a surprised look on his face, he crumpled to the deck, dropping the Doctor to the ground.

“Brother!” Agrius wailed. He let the pegasus’s reins go slack just long enough for the black steed to kick him in the head and fly away free over Miami Bay.

For a split second, Luke’s guards were too stunned to do anything except watch the twins’ bodies dissolve into smoke.

There was a wild chorus of war cries and hooves thundering against metal. A dozen centaurs charged out of the main stairwell.”

“Ponies!” Tyson cried with delight.

Chiron was amongst a crowd of his relatives, some had black Arabian stallion bodies, others had gold palomino coats, and some had orange and white spots. Some wore brightly coloured T-shirts with Day-Glo letters that said: PARTY PONIES: SOUTH FLORIDA CHAPTER. Some were armed with bows, some with baseball bats, and some with paintball guns. One had his face painted like a Comanche warrior and was waving a massive orange Styrofoam hand making a large Number 1. Another was bare-chested and painted entirely green. A third had googly-eye glasses with the eyeballs bouncing around on Slinky coils, and a baseball cap with cola attachments on either side.

They exploded onto the deck with such ferocity and colour that for a moment, even Luke was stunned.

As Luke raised his sword to rally his troops, a centaur shot a custom-made arrow with a leather boxing glove on the end. It smacked Luke in the face and sent him crashing into the swimming pool. 

His warriors scattered.

“Come get some!” One of the centaurs yelled as they let loose with their paintball guns. A wave of blue and yellow exploded against Luke’s warriors, blinding them and spattering them from head to toe. They tried to run, only to slip and fall. 

Chiron galloped towards Annabeth and Grover, neatly plucking them from the deck and depositing them on his back. The Doctor hurried to Percy’s side, helping him up.

Luke was crawling out of the pool. “Attack you fools!” He ordered his army, and somewhere down below deck, an alarm bell thrummed.

The Doctor helped Percy onto a centaur’s back, calling for Tyson to follow as he too mounted. Tyson dropped the two warriors he was about to tie in a knot and mounted another centaur.

“Withdraw, brethren!” Chiron called.

Luke’s warriors were organizing themselves into a phalanx, but by the time they were ready to advance, the centaurs had galloped to the edge of the deck and fearlessly jumped the guardrail. They plummeted ten stories, the centaurs landing comfortably on the asphalt and galloped off, whooping and yelling taunts at the  _ Princess Andromeda  _ as they raced into the streets of downtown Miami.

They picked up speed, rushing through the city, and soon they were flying into marshy fields of high grass and ponds with stunted trees. 

Finally, they found themselves in a trailer park at the edge of a lake. The trailers were all horse trailers, all equipped with a telly, a mini-fridge, and mosquito netting. They were in a centaur camp.

“Dude!” One of the centaurs said as he unloaded his gear, “Did you see that bear guy? He was all like, ‘Woah, I have an arrow in my mouth!’”

The centaur with the googly-eye glasses laughed. “That was awesome! Head slam!”

The two centaurs charged at each other full-force and knocked heads, then went staggering off in different directions with grins on their faces.

Chiron sighed, setting Annabeth and Grover on a picnic blanket as the Doctor helped Percy off of his own, beginning to treat his wound.

“I really wish my cousins wouldn’t slam their heads together. They don’t have the brain cells to spare.”

“How did you find us?” The Doctor asked as Chiron handed him supplies for Percy’s leg. 

“Advanced planning, I figured you would wash up near Miami if you made it out of the Sea of Monsters alive. Almost everything strange washes up near Miami.”

“Gee, thanks.” Grover mumbled. 

“No, no,” Chiron said. “I didn’t mean… Oh, nevermind. I  _ am  _ glad to see you, my young satyr. The point is, I was able to eavesdrop on Percy’s Iris-message and trace the signal. Iris and I have been friends for centuries. I asked her to alert me to any important communications in this area. It then took no effort to convince my cousins to ride to your aid. As you see, centaurs can travel quite fast when we wish to. Distance for us is not the same as distance for humans.”

“So what now?” Percy asked, glancing over to where the centaurs were teaching Tyson how to operate a paintball gun. “We just let Luke sail away? He’s got Kronos aboard that ship. Or parts of him, anyway.”

“I’m afraid, Percy, that today has been something of a draw.” Chiron said. “Luke was not organized enough to pursue us. Nobody won.”

“But we got the Fleece!” Annabeth said. “Clarisse is on her way back to camp with it right now.”

Chiron nodded, though still looked uneasy. “You are all true heroes. And soon as the Doctor, here finishes fixing Percy up, you must return to Half-Blood Hill. The centaurs shall carry you.”

“You’re coming too?” Percy asked.

“Oh yes, Percy,” Chiron smiled, “I’ll be relieved to get home. My brothers here simply do not appreciate Dean Martin’s music. Besides, I must have some words with Mr. D. There’s the rest of the summer to plan. So much training to do. And I want to see… I’m curious about the Fleece.”

Over by the campfire, Tyson let loose with his paintball gun. A blue projectile splattered against one of the centaurs, hurling him backwards into the lake. The centaur came up grinning, covered in swamp muck and blue paint, giving Tyson two thumbs up.

“Annabeth,” Chiron said, “Perhaps you, Grover, and the Doctor ought to go supervise Tyson and my cousins before they, ah, teach each other too many bad habits?”

“Sure, Chiron,” Annabeth said, “Come on, goat boy, Doc.”

“But I don’t like paintball.” Grover said.

“Yes you do.” She hoisted Grover to his hooves, but the Doctor looked at Chiron,

“Whatever it is, I need to know.”

“No, you don’t.” Chiron replied.

“No, Chiron, it’s okay.” Percy said anxiously, “He can stay.”

“Fine.” Annabeth and Grover were shooed away. 

“Percy, I had a talk with Annabeth on the way here. A talk about the prophecy.” 

“Is it about me?” Percy asked.

Chiron hesitated. “It is about a half-blood of the eldest gods…”

“There aren’t any other half-blood children of the Big Three.” Percy said.

“That we know of.” The Doctor pointed out.

“They must reach the age of sixteen.” Chiron said, “Since you are not yet of that age, we must simply train you as best we can, and leave the future to the Fates.”

“That’s what it meant.” Percy suddenly breathed, something had clicked in his head.

“That’s what  _ what  _ meant?” Chiron frowned.

“Last summer. The omen from the Fates, when I saw them snip somebody’s life string. I thought it meant I was going to die right away, but it’s worse than that. It’s got something to do with your prophecy. The death they foretold, it’s going to happen when I’m sixteen.”

“My boy, you can’t be sure of that…” Chiron’s tail whisked nervously in the grass.

“Kronos is rising.” The Doctor said, “He’s going to destroy Mount Olympus, so we must assume it is about Percy and take every precaution.”

“And remember, Percy,” Chiron said, “We  _ will  _ stop him. If it is you, you will not be alone in that fight.”

There was a single beat of silence.

“He’s your father, isn’t he?” The Doctor asked of Chiron. Chiron sighed.

“Yes, that he is.”


	19. The Second Race

The Doctor, Percy, Annabeth, Grover, and Tyson arrived in Long Island just after Clarisse did, thanks to the centaurs. The trip back itself had been quiet, nobody seemed to want to talk.

When they got to the camp, the centaurs were anxious to meet Dionysus, having heard that he threw some seriously wild parties, but were disappointed, as the god was in no mood to celebrate when the entire camp gathered together at the top of Half-Blood Hill. It had been a rough two weeks for the camp; the arts and crafts cabin had burned down in an attack from a  _ Draco Aionius,  _ the Big House’s rooms were overflowing with wounded campers, and the children of Apollo, who were the best healers, had been working day and night performing first aid. Everyone looked weary and battered as they gathered around Thalia’s tree.

The moment Clarisse draped the Golden Fleece over the lowest bough, the entire tree spilled light. The campers cheered as the needles on the pine tree started to slowly turn from a sickly brown to a lively green.

Chiron ordered a twenty-four hour guard duty on the hilltop, at least until he could find an appropriate monster to protect the Fleece. He said he’d place an ad in  _ Olympus Weekly  _ right away. In the meantime, Clarisse was carried on her cabin-mates’ shoulders down to the amphitheatre, where she was honoured with a laurel wreath and a lot of celebrating around the campfire. No one gave Annabeth, Percy, or the Doctor a second look, and they were completely fine with that.

Later that evening, as they were roasting s’mores and listening to the Stoll brothers tell a ghost story, when Clarisse shoved the Doctor and Percy from behind and whispered in their ears, “Just because you guys were cool one time, don’t think you’re off the hook with Ares. I’m still waiting for the right opportunity to pulverize you.”

Percy and the Doctor exchanged a smile.

“What? What is it?” Clarisse demanded.

“Nothing,” The Doctor grinned, as Percy simply said,

“It’s good to be home.”

The next morning, after the centaurs headed back to Florida, Chiron made a surprise announcement: the chariot races would go ahead as scheduled. Everyone had assumed that with Tantalus gone, they too would no longer be happening. Tyson was not too keen on the idea of getting back in a chariot after his first experience, and so Percy and Annabeth teamed up; Percy would drive, Annabeth would defend, and Tyson and the Doctor would act as the pit crew.

The night before the race, the Doctor and Percy stayed late at the stables, talking to the horses and giving them a final brushing, when from behind them, someone said, “Fine animals, horses. Wish I’d thought of them.”

The Doctor turned, and behind them was a slim middle-aged man in a postal carrier outfit with a mailbag slung over his shoulder.

“Hello, Hermes.” The Doctor greeted the god.

“Hi, Lord Hermes.” Percy said awkwardly. “We, uh, we saw Luke, but –”

“You weren’t able to talk sense into him?”

“Well,” Percy said, “We kind of tried to kill each other in a duel to the death.”

“I see. You tried the diplomatic approach.”

“I’m really sorry. I mean, you gave us those awesome gifts and everything. And I know you wanted Luke to come back. But… he’s turned bad.  _ Really  _ bad. He said he feels like you abandoned him.”

Hermes sighed. “Do you ever feel your father abandoned  _ you,  _ Percy?”

Percy hesitated, then looked at his feet silently. 

“He’s not lost, Hermes.” The Doctor said softly, “It may feel like it sometimes, hell, a lot of times, but he’s still alive… He’s –” The Doctor took a calming breath, “It’ll be okay.”

“I appreciate your sentiments.” Hermes smiled sadly, “The hardest part about being a god is that you must often act indirectly, especially when it comes to your own children. If we were to intervene every time our children had a problem… well, that would only create more problems and more resentment. But Percy, I believe if you give it some thought, you will see that Poseidon  _ has  _ been paying attention to you. He has answered your prayers. I can only hope that someday, Luke may realize the same about me. Whether you feel like you succeeded or not, you reminded Luke who he was. You spoke to him.”

“I tried to kill him.” Percy said quietly.

Hermes shrugged. “Families are messy. Immortal families are eternally messy. Sometimes the best we can do is to remind each other that we’re related, for better or worse… and try to keep the maiming and killing to a minimum.”

In the distance, the conch horn sounded, signaling curfew.

“You should get to bed,” Hermes said. “I’ve helped you get into quite enough trouble this summer already. I only came to make this delivery.”

“Delivery?” Percy asked.

“I  _ am  _ the messenger of the gods, Percy.” Hermes said, taking an electronic signature pad from his mailbag and handed it to Percy. “Sign there, please.”

Percy picked up the stylus, but then quickly dropped it as he realized that it was entwined with a pair of tiny green snakes.

_ Ouch.  _ George said.

_ Really, Percy,  _ Martha scolded.  _ Would  _ you  _ want to be dropped on the floor of a horse stable? _

“Oh, uh, sorry.” Percy said awkwardly, picking up the pad and stylus again. 

_ Did you bring me a rat? _

“No…” Percy admitted. “Uh, we didn’t find any.”

_ What about a guinea pig? _

_ George! _ Martha chided.  _ Don’t tease the boy. _

The Doctor smirked at the snakes as Percy signed his name and returned the pad to Hermes. In exchange, he handed Percy a deep blue envelope.

“Good luck tomorrow,” Hermes said, “Fine team of horses you have there, though you’ll excuse me if I root for the Hermes cabin.”

_ And don’t be too discouraged when you read it, dear,  _ Martha said sweetly,  _ He  _ does  _ have your interests at heart. _

“What do you mean?” Percy asked.

_ Don’t mind her,  _ George said,  _ And next time, remember, snakes work for tips. _

“I’ll keep that in mind.” The Doctor said.

“Enough, you two,” Hermes said. “Goodbye, Percy, Doctor.”

Small white wings sprouted from his pith helmet and the god began to glow. The Doctor and Percy averted their eyes and in a brilliant white flash, he was gone.

Percy stared down at the blue envelope in his shaking hands. “It’s from my dad.” Percy breathed.

The Doctor sat the boy down on the step and Percy tore the the letter open.

As Percy unfolded the paper inside, he revealed two simple words:

_ Brace Yourself _

The next morning, the entire camp was buzzing about the chariot race, although they kept glancing nervously to the sky like they expected to see Stymphalian birds gathering. Fortunately, none did. It was a lovely summer day with a blue sky and plenty of sunshine. The camp had begun to look as it should: the meadows were green and lush; the white columns gleamed on the Greek buildings; dryads played happily in the woods.

As Percy and Annabeth drove onto the track, the Doctor was admiring Tyson’s work. The carriage gleamed with bronze reinforcements, the wheels were realigned with magical suspension so that they glided with hardly a bump,and the rigging for the horses was so perfectly balanced so that the team turned at the slightest tug of the reins. Not to mention, that Tyson had made them two javelins, each with three buttons on the shaft; The first button primed the javelin to explode on impact, releasing razor wire that would tangle and shred an opponent’s wheels. The second button produced a blunt bronze spearhead designed to knock a driver out of their carriage. The third button brought up a grappling hook that could be used to lock onto an enemy’s chariot or push it away.

The moment Chiron blew the conch, Percy and Annabeth shot down the track. They took the first turn a full chariot-length ahead of Clarisse, who was busy trying to fight off a javelin attack from the Stoll brothers in the Hermes chariot.

“Incoming!” Annabeth yelled as she threw her first javelin in grappling hook mode, knocking away a lead-weighted net that would have entingled both herself and Percy. Apollo’s chariot was coming up upon their flank. Before Annabeth could rearm herself, the Apollo warrior threw a javelin into her right wheel. The javelin shattered, but not before snapping some spokes. The Poseidon/Athena chariot lurched and wobbled, but kept on moving, and pretty soon they were neck and neck with Apollo’s chariot with Hephaestus’s close behind. The Ares and Hermes chariots were falling behind, riding side by side as Clarisse and Connor Stoll were fighting sword-on-javelin.

“You’re mine!” the driver from Apollo yelled. He was a first-year camper, but he sure was confident.

“Yeah right!” Annabeth yelled back, picking up her second javelin and threw it at the Apollo driver.

Her aim was perfect, and knocked the boy against his teammate and sending them both toppling out of their chariot in a backwards somersault. The horses felt the reins go slack and went mad, riding straight for the crowd. Campers scrambled for cover as the horses leaped the corner of the bleachers and the golden chariot flipped over. The horses galloped back towards their stable, dragging the upside-down chariot behind them.

Percy held his chariot together through the second turn, despite the groaning of the right wheel. He and Annabeth passed the starting line and thundered into their final lap.

The axle creaked and moaned. The wobbling wheel was causing them to lose speed and the Hephaestus team was gaining on them, despite the horses that responded to Percy’s ever command.

Beckendorf grinned as he pressed a button on his command console. Steel cables shot out of the front of his mechanical horses, wrapping around Percy’s back rail, causing the chariot to shudder backwards whilst Beckendorf pulled himself forwards.

Annabeth cursed and drew her knife, attempting to hack the cables, but they were much too thick.

“I can’t cut them!” She yelled, looking back at the Hephaestus chariot that were dangerously close.

“Switch with me!” Percy yelled, “Take the reins!”

“But –”

“Trust me!”

Annabeth and Percy switched, and Percy slashed down on the cables with Riptide, easily breaking them.

They were now neck and neck, Clarisse coming up from behind.

“See ya, Percy!” Beckendorf yelled. “Here’s a little parting gift!” He threw a leather pouch into their chariot. It stuck to the floor immediately and began billowing green smoke.

“Greek fire!” Annabeth identified.

Yes, Greek fire was not particularly good. They had maybe ten seconds before it exploded.

Percy panicked, slamming his hand on the stopwatch on his wrist. Instantly, the watch changed, expanding so that the metal rim spiraled outwards, and a leather strap wrapped around the boy’s forearm until he was holding a round war shield four feet wide, the inside soft leather, the outside polished bronze, engraved with intricate designs from their adventures. He raised the shield, and Beckendorf’s sword clanged against it, his blade shattering.

“What?” Beckendorf shouted. “How –”

But he wasn’t able to say more, as Percy knocked him in the chest with the shield, sending him flying out of his chariot, tumbling in the dirt.

Percy was about to use Riptide to slash at the driver, when Annabeth yelled, “Percy!”

The Greek fire was shooting sparks. Percy shoved the tip of his sword under the leather pouch, and flipped it up, dislodging the firebomb and sending it flying into the Hephaestus chariot at the driver’s feet.

The driver yelped and in a split second, the diver dove out of the chariot, which careened away and exploded in green flames. The metal horses seemed to short-circuit, causing them to turn, dragging the burning wreckage back towards Clarisse and the Stoll brothers, who had to swerve to avoid it.

Annabeth pulled the reins for the last turn, and somehow they managed to avoid capsizing, and the spurred horses flew across the finish line. 

The crowd roared, and once the chariot stopped, they were mobbed with campers, chanting their names. But Annabeth yelled over the noise: “Hold up! Listen! It wasn’t just us!”

The crowd didn’t want to be quiet, but Annabeth made herself heard: “We couldn’t have done it without somebody else! We couldn’t have won this race or gotten the Fleece or saved Grover or anything! We owe our lives to the Doctor and Tyson, Percy’s…”

“Brother!” Percy said loud enough for everybody to hear. “Tyson, my baby brother.”

Tyson blushed and the crowd cheered. Annabeth planted a kiss on Percy’s cheek, and the roaring got even louder. The entire Athena cabin lifted Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson (the Doctor dove out of the way, electing instead to watch from afar), and carried them towards the winner’s platform, where Chiron was waiting to bestow the laurel wreaths.


	20. The Power of the Golden Fleece

That afternoon was the happiest the Doctor had ever seen Percy. Grover had announced that he’d be able to spend the rest of the summer with them before resuming his quest for Pan. His bosses at the Council of Cloven Elders were so impressed that he hadn’t gotten himself killed and had cleared the way for future searchers that they granted him a two-month furlough and a new set of reed pipes. Which reminded the Doctor, he really needed to teach the satyr some new songs, as the strawberry fields started to wrap around the campers’ feet as he played ‘YMCA’.

Grover admitted that he couldn’t dissolve the empathy link between himself and Percy, which Percy was okay with, but the Doctor was not.

“Percy, if I get in trouble again, you’ll be in danger! You could die!”

“If you get in trouble again, I want to know about it.” Percy said. “And I’ll come help you again, G-man. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

In the end, Grover went back to playing ‘YMCA’ for the strawberry plans as they tried to wrap them around the feet of unsuspecting campers.

Later on during archery class, Chiron pulled Percy and the Doctor aside and told them that he’d fixed their problems with Meriwether Prep. The school no longer blamed them for destroying their gymnasium and the police were no longer looking for the boys.

“How’d you manage that?” Percy asked.

Chiron’s eyes twinkled. “I merely suggested that the mortals had seen something different on that day – a furnace explosion that was not your fault.”

“You just said that and they bought it?”

“I manipulated the Mist. Some day, when you’re ready, I’ll show you both how it’s done.”

“You mean we can go back to Meriwether next year?” Percy asked eagerly.

Chiron raised his eyebrows. “Oh, no, they’ve still expelled you. Your headmaster, Mr. Bonsai, said you had – how did he put it? – Un-groovy karma that disrupted the school’s educational aura. But you’re not in any legal trouble, which was a relief to your mother, Percy. Oh, and speaking of your mother…”

He unclipped his cell phone from his quiver and handed it to Percy. “It’s high time you called her.”

The worst part was the beginning. The “Percy-Jackson-what-were-you-thinking-do-you-have-any-idea-how-worried-I-was-sneaking-off-camp-without-permission-going-on-dangerous-quests-and-scaring-me-half-to-death-and-you-Doctor-are-in-so-much-trouble-letting-him-do-this.” Part.

But finally, she paused to catch her breath. “Oh, I’m just so glad you’re both safe.”

“I’m sorry, Mom.” Percy told her. “I won’t scare you again.”

“Don’t promise me that, Percy. You know very well it will only get worse.” Ms. Jackson tried to sound casual about it, but the Doctor could hear that she was still shaken up.

“We could come home for a while,” Percy offered.

“No, no. Stay at camp. Train. Do what you need to do. But you  _ will  _ come home for the next school year?”

“Yeah, of course. Uh, if there’s any school that will take us.”

“Oh, we’ll find something dear,” Percy’s mother sighed. “Some place where they don’t know us yet.”

The Doctor sat down beside Percy on the beach. The day was drawing to a close, and he was clutching the small wristwatch in his hands.

“Tyson gave it to me.” He said quietly. 

Now that the Doctor had a closer look, the Doctor could see that it had a simple white and silver clock face with a black leather strap. He easily identified it as the thing Tyson had been tinkering with all summer. 

“He said he didn’t finish it in time for the trip.” Percy continued, “He said that I was exactly what he had prayed to Poseidon for.”

“A friend.” The Doctor realized. 

“Said young Cyclopes grow up alone on the streets, learning to make things out of scraps to survive. He said it makes them appreciate their blessings, keeps them from being greedy and cruel like Polyphemus.” He took a breath. “The scars on his back… they’re from the monsters who chased him. He said meeting me was the greatest blessing.”

“Running away doesn’t make him weak, you know.” The Doctor said slowly.

“I know.” Percy nodded. He looked into the horizon. “Doctor, Tyson’s gone.”

“What?”

“Dad sent him a dream last night.” Percy explained. “He said he wants Tyson to visit, to go underwater and get an internship to learn to work in the forges.”

“And what did you say?”

“I said I was happy for him. And he told me it was hard to leave his new brother, but he wants to make things, weapons for camp. He told me to use my shield well, that it would save my life some day. The way he said it –” Percy looked up at the Doctor, “Can Cyclopes see the future?”

The Doctor thought for a moment. “I don’t know… but it’s possible.”

Percy sighed, pressing the button on the wristwatch and watching the shield spiral out to full size. Hammered into the bronze were pictures in Ancient Greek style, scenes from their adventures this summer. There was Annabeth slaying a Laistrygonian dodgeball player, Percy fighting the bronze bulls on Half-Blood Hill, the Doctor holding his Sonic in the air against the flying army of Stymphalian Birds, Tyson riding Rainbow towards the _ Princess Andromeda,  _ the  _ CSS Birmingham  _ blasting its cannons at Charybdis, Tyson battling the Hydra as he held aloft a box of Monster Donuts.

“Hey, guys.”

The Doctor and Percy turned to see Annabeth and Grover standing at the top of a sand dune.

“Come on,” Annabeth said gently, holding her hand out to Percy, “Time for dinner.”

They walked back towards the dining pavilion together, just the four of them, like old times.

A storm raged that night, but it parted around Camp Half-Blood as storms usually did. Lightning flashed against the horizon, waves pounded the shore, but not a drop fell in the valley. The camp was protected again, thanks to the fleece, sealed inside the magic borders.

“Percy! Doctor!” Grover flew inside the cabin without warning or permission, startling the Doctor and waking Percy. “Annabeth…on the hill…she…”

The Doctor and Percy were on their feet in an instant. Annabeth had been on guard duty that night, protecting the Fleece. The Doctor told her to get him if anything happened –

The Doctor, Percy, and Grover sprinted across the central yard, Grover too stunned to speak or breathe. Dawn was just breaking, but the entire camp seemed to be stirring. Word was spreading. Something huge had happened. A few campers were already making their way towards the hill, satyrs, nymphs, and heroes in an odd mix of armor and pajamas. 

Chiron galloped up behind them looking grim.

“Is it true?” he asked Grover. Grover could only nod, his expression dazed.

The Doctor and Percy attempted to ask what was going on, but Chiron rushed between them, grabbing them each by the arm and lifted them onto his back. Together, they thundered up Half-Blood Hill, where a small crowd had begun to gather.

The Fleece was still sitting upon the pine tree, glittering in the first light of dawn. The storm had broken and the sky was bloodred.

“Curse the titan lord,” Chiron said. “He’s tricked us again, given himself another chance to control the prophecy.”

“What happened?” The Doctor demanded. 

“The Fleece,” he said, “The Fleece did its work too well.”

They galloped forth, everyone moving out of their way. There, at the base of the tree, a girl was lying unconscious. Annabeth was in Greek armor, kneeling next to her.

“It healed the tree,” The Doctor breathed, “But the poison was not the only thing it purged.”

Annabeth’s eyes were streaming with tears, the Doctor jumped off of Chiron’s back, Percy right behind, Chiron calling after them.

The Doctor knelt by the girl’s side. She had short black hair and freckles across her nose. She was built like a long-distance runner, lithe and strong, and she wore a black T-shirt, black tattered jeans, and a leather jacket with buttons from a variety of bands.

The Doctor placed his hand upon her forehead, her skin was cold. Golden regeneration energy slipped from the Doctor’s fingers, enhanced by his contact with the Fleece. It wrapped around the girl, and her eyes opened, electric blue irises that washed over the crowd of campers.

“Who –”

“I’m the Doctor,” He smiled gently, “You’re safe now.”

“Strangest dream…” She breathed, “Dying…”

“No, you’re all right.” The Doctor assured her, “Can you remember your name?”

“I am Thalia,” she said, “Daughter of Zeus.”   



End file.
